Missouri Plan
Also known as the
merit plan, the
Missouri Plan (originally the
Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan) is a method for the nonpartisan selection of
judges currently used in 11
U.S. states as well as in many other countries. Many other states use a variant of it.
Under the plan, when there is a judicial vacancy, a non-partisan judicial selection commission solicits applications, conducts interviews, and recommends three persons to the governor. After interviewing the candidates, the governor selects one of the three to fill the seat.
After one year on the bench, judges must then run, unopposed, at the next general election for retention in office on their record. If a majority of voters disapproves of a judge, the judge must leave the bench and a new judge must be appointed to the vacancy according to the same rules. However, judges rarely fail to gain public approval.
Missouri voters adopted the system by initiative petition in November 1940 after several very contentious judicial elections, which were heavily influenced by the political machine of
Tom Pendergast. Most low-level judges in Missouri are selected by other means, except in
Kansas City and
St. Louis, where the Missouri Plan is mandated by the state constitution for all judicial vacancies. After Missouri adopted this method for selecting judges, several other states adopted it, either in full or in part.
The 11 states currently using the Missouri Plan are:
Alaska,
California,
Colorado,
Indiana,
Iowa,
Kansas,
Missouri,
Nebraska,
Oklahoma,
Utah, and
Wyoming.
Tennessee uses a modified version of the Missouri Plan called the
Tennessee Plan.
Florida also uses a complex, modified version of the Missouri Plan.
The Missouri Plan is not without critics. There are several alternative ways of filling judicial posts which are used in other states. These include direct elections (either partisan or non-partisan), election by the state legislature, or appointment by the governor with advice and consent of the state senate.
See also: State supreme courtExplanations of the Missouri Plan
*
Info from the Missouri Judiciary*
The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan â€" What Is It?*
FAQ on plan - From Missouri Bar Association
Pro-Missouri Plan links
*
Let the People Judge the Judges: Reforming Virginia's Judicial Selection Process*
Judges and elections are not always a good mixAnti-Missouri Plan links
*
Minnesota Judicial Elections: Better Than the "Missouri Plan"*
The Case for Partisan Judicial Elections
