(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Incoming MO Senate President wants to elect Supreme Court justices [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2024-12-05  

Incoming Republican Missouri Senate President Cindy O’Laughlin has decided the state needs to elect its Supreme Court justices instead of having them appointed. (Sorry but the main accompanying news item is behind a paywall.) Since the Court decided 4-3 in September to allow abortion rights Amendment 3 to appear on the November ballot, she says it’s clear Missouri needs “judges who more closely align with the citizens.” Funny but I thought a judge’s responsibility was to align with the law—or, in the case of Supreme Court Justices, with the Constitution. Judges—or other political types—who “align with the citizens” typically align with the ones with the most money.

O’Laughlin’s proposal faces potential resistance from the legal community, who like the current system, but it does have the support of current Chief Justice Mary R. Russell, who said it “empowers Missouri voters by giving them a direct say in electing judges, ensuring our judiciary serves the people, not the political or legal elite.” Yes, the “elite,” meaning “people who aren’t us.” Pretty sure being the Chief Justice of a medium sized state probably makes you part of the “legal elite.”

In all, 7 of 114 Missouri counties (primarily urban) voted in favor of Amendment 3, while the other 107 voted against so it’s understandable that folks in those 107 counties are bummed. But sometimes you lose, and when you do, you lick your wounds and get over it. And maybe you vow to do better next time. What you don’t do is pull a McConnell and change the rules or fire the referee.

“The Missouri Plan,” in place since 1940, has been a model for selecting judges with minimal partisanship for years, and 20 other states plus the District of Columbia currently use it to select their Supreme Court justices. Under the Plan, the Governor selects judges from among a small group of candidates chosen by a commission. But one “wrong” decision by the court is apparently all it takes to abandon a system that’s worked well for 80+ years. And when those “elected judges” get it “wrong”? You can probably guess.

This is another Republican do-over, which happens whenever they lose. The catchphrase “unelected judges” goes back to at least Pat Robertson (that’s where I first heard it, anyway), and it’s been a standard talking point on the right for decades. Never mind that “unelected judges” overturned Roe v. Wade. But, of course, that was different. Those were the right “unelected judges.” You know, judges appointed by a Republican. What we know is this: they’ll keep trying and it’s up to the rest of us to make sure they don’t succeed.

(See https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/government-politics/missouri-senate-leader-wants-state-supreme-court-judges-to-run-for-election/article_f77ed5e4-b253-11ef-9181-4b9fb40bfd11.html

https://www.reuters.com/legal/missouri-supreme-court-rules-abortion-rights-measure-will-be-state-ballot-2024-09-10/

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/politics/elections/counties-missouri-st-louis-charles-voted-on-amendment-3/63-49b14e13-7c53-4512-a65c-a4b4967e4c86

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/5/2290481/-Incoming-MO-Senate-President-wants-to-elect-Supreme-Court-justices?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/