SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Matt Blunt opposes a ballot initiative that would change the way judges are chosen in Greene County.  Blunt says he's opposed to Greene County's proposed Non-Partisan Court Plan because it would take away voters’ ability to elect judges.

  Supporters of the plan note that other top Republicans still favor the initiative because it would help take politics out of the courtroom.

  Blunt came out against the Non-Partisan Court Plan in an interview on Tuesday.

  “I believe we benefit when people are allowed to select their elected officials.  I don't want to give up my vote and I'm opposed to the effort to take away the ability of the people to elect their own judges,” the governor said.

  The plan would replace elections for circuit and associate circuit judges with appointments by the governor from a list of three names submitted by a five-member panel made up of two non-lawyer citizens, two lawyers and the chief judge of the Missouri Appeals Court southern district.  The governor would appoint the two non-lawyer citizens to the panel.  The bar association would appoint the lawyers.

  The governor worries trial attorneys would wield too much influence over selections.

  “I think a lot of the supporters are indeed members of the trial bar that want to have more control who the judges are,” he said.

   “I'm just assuming he's receiving pressure from some part of the Republican Party,” said attorney Chip Sheppard, who backs the plan.

  Sheppard noted that a governor appointed six of the nine current state judges in Greene County.  Sheppard says, under the current system, judges try to resign or retire when a governor of their same party is in office. All judges in Missouri have to retire on or before their 70th birthday, although they can hear cases after that by special appointment of the Supreme Court when other judges have heavy caseloads or conflicts of interest.

  “When they retire, the governor can pick anybody he wants, his best fundraiser in the Greene County area or somebody else that's a big party supporter, whether or not they're the right candidate for judge or not,” said Sheppard.

  He argues the non-partisan plan would allow candidates to be judged by merit and not by political connections.

  “Do you want your judges paying attention to fundraising and campaigning or do you want them paying attention to the constitution?” he asked.

  In the interview, Blunt went as far as to say switching the process could hurt the area's economic climate.

  “I think it would undermine our ability to attract business to southwest Missouri and Greene County,” he said.

  That's why Sheppard is focusing on the newest leaders of the Republican Party -- and their support for the plan.

  “Gov. Blunt's announcement doesn't help our effort with his supporters. Of course, he's out of office in three months, and isn't running for election,” he said.

  Under the proposed plan, there would be retention elections.  After a certain period of time, voters could vote to retain a judge. Supporters say they'd have more information because they would be provided with juror and attorney surveys on the judge, something voters don't have now.
----

The Nonpartisan Court Plan has been around since the 1940s, when Missourians adopted the plan for the selection of Missouri Supreme Court and Appeals Court Judges.  The City of St. Louis and St. Louis, Clay and Platte counties adopted it in the 1970s.

Under the the Nonpartisan Court Plan for Greene County, when a seat on the bench becomes vacant, lawyers would apply to the five-member commission.  The commission would narrow the field by reviewing the applications and interviewing the candidates.  The commission would then submit three potential candidates to the  governor to be interviewed.  The governor would have 60 days to fill the vacancy.  If a decision is not made in 60 days, the decision would revert back to the judicial commission, which would select one of the three candidates to fill the vacancy.

Currently, when an interim judicial vacancy occurs, it is filled by an appointment of the governor by whatever criteria he chooses.  That judge serves until the next election, when he runs in a standard partisan election for his judicial seat. (A woman has never served as a circuit or associate circuit judge in Greene County.)

The Missouri Bar Association's publication "Voting for Missouri Judges"  addresses the current different processes in place for filling judicial openings and retaining judges.

The Commission on Judicial Independence created a report on the History of the Nonpartisan Court Plan that reviews the plan's detailed history and influences on the state's judicial system.

A candid discussion of the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan was held in 2004 by David Mason, a circuit judge in the 22nd Judicial Circuit, Anthony Behr of Behr, McCarter & Potter; and Richard A. Gartner of The Gartner Law Firm.  They express differing viewpoints and their opinions of the positives and negatives of the plan.