Missouri Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820, and is located in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction - the sole legal power - to hear five types of cases on appeal. Pursuant to Article V, Section 3 of the Missouri Constitution, these cases involve:
- The validity of a United States statute or treaty.
- The validity of a Missouri statute or constitutional provision.
- The state's revenue laws.
- Challenges to a statewide elected official's right to hold office.
- Imposition of the death penalty.
Unless their case involves one of those five issues, people who want a trial court's decision reviewed must appeal to the Missouri Court of Appeals. Most of these cases involve routine legal questions and end there. The Court of Appeals is divided geographically into the Eastern District, Western District and Southern District.
Certain cases, however, can be transferred to the Supreme Court - at the Court's discretion - if it determines that a question of general interest or importance is involved, that the laws should be re-examined, or that the lower court's decision conflicts with an earlier appellate decision. This is similar to the process the United States Supreme Court uses in accepting cases.
Method of choosing judges
Judges of the court are selected by an appointed commission, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission, in a controversial system known as the Missouri Plan. Under the plan, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission submits the names of three applicants to the Governor. If the Governor fails to make a nomination, the Commission shall make the appointment. Once the judge has served for at least a year, he or she will be placed on the general election ballot for a retention vote of the people. If retained, judges serve a term of 12 years.
To date, no appellate judge in Missouri has ever lost a retention election.[1]
The Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court is elected on a rotating basis by a vote of all seven Supreme Court judges to a two-year term.[2]
History
The famous case of Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1856) came to the United States Supreme Court after a decision made by the Supreme Court of Missouri.
Current judges
With the appointment of Patricia Breckenridge in September 2007, there is now a full allocation of seven judges on the court. The judges rotate the two-year term of Chief Justice among themselves based on seniority.[3] The Chief Justice is Constitutionally empowered to preside over the court and to be the "chief administrative officer" of the state judicial system.[4]
| Judge | Date appointed | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|
| William Ray Price | 1992 | John Ashcroft, R |
| Zel Fisher | 2008 | Matt Blunt, R |
| Michael Wolff | 1998 | Mel Carnahan, D |
| Laura Denvir Stith | 2001 | Bob Holden, D |
| Richard Teitelman | 2002 | Bob Holden, D |
| Mary Rhodes Russell | 2004 | Bob Holden, D |
| Patricia Breckenridge | 2007 | Matt Blunt, R |
Recent appointments
Two appointments were made to court in 2008: Zel Fisher and Patricia Breckenridge. Missouri uses a Commission-selection, political appointment method of judicial selection. The process involved is that the state's Appellate Judicial Commission submits a slate of potential judges to the governor; the governor must choose from that list.
The judges on the list to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Stephen Limbaugh were Ronald Holliger, Lisa White Hardwick and Zel Fischer, who was ultimately chosen by Blunt. Hollinger and Hardwick are judges on the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District; Fischer is an associate circuit judge in Atchison County.[5]
Clerk of the Supreme Court
The clerk of the Supreme Court is responsible for a wide range of duties, including the supervision of the internal administrative function of the Court itself as well as the planning and administrative direction of the Missouri Judicial Conference, the organization of all the state's judges. The current clerk is Thomas Simon.
Removal from office
Missouri judges may be removed in one of two ways:
- On the recommendation of the Missouri Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline the supreme court may suspend, discipline, reprimand, retire, or remove a judge.[6]
- Judges may be impeached by the house of representatives. Impeachments are tried by the supreme court or by a special commission in the case of impeachments of the governor or a supreme court justice. Convictions require the concurrence of five sevenths of the court or commission."[7]
External links
- Missouri Supreme Court Official Site
- Chief justice proposes more openness in judge selections
- Show Me Better Judges
References
- ↑ Grisham's Judicial Appeal
- ↑ Meet the Judges
- ↑ "New Chief Justice of Missouri Supreme Court". Jet Magazine. July 14, 2003.
- ↑ Missouri Constitution, Article V, Sec. 8. As amended August 3, 1976. Accessed October 27, 2007.
- ↑ Two area judges nominated for Mo. Supreme Court slot
- ↑ Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline]
- ↑ Methods of Selection: Removal of Judges
Portions of this article have been taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Copyright Notice can be found here.
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