Missouri Supreme Court

From Judgepedia

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.

Jurisdiction

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.

Case load

In the 2004 fiscal year, the Missouri Supreme Court had 693 cases filed, and 729 disposed.^[1]

The court's justices

Selection of justices

The Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission selects justices of the court according to the Missouri Plan. The Commission submits three names to the Governor to determine the replacement. If the Governor neglects this duty, the responsibility goes to the Commission. After one year of serving on the court, the justice must go to general election to retain his seat. Terms are for 12 years. As of the elections of 2008, no appellate judge in Missouri has lost a retention election.^[2] Two appointments were made to court in 2008: Zel Fischer and Patricia Breckenridge.^[3] A judge can be removed on the recommendation of the Missouri Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline,^[4] or may be impeached by the house of representatives, which then goes to the Supreme Court. Convictions require the approval of five sevenths of the court or commission.^[5]

Qualifications

According to Article V, Section 21 of the state constitution, to be considered a qualified candidate for the Supreme Court, one must be at least 30 years of age, licensed to practice law in the state, a U.S. citizen for at least 15 years, and be a qualified voter of the state for at least nine years prior to the person's candidacy. Additionally, candidates must be younger than 70 years of age, as there is mandatory retirement at that time.^[6]

Current justices

Chief justice

The judges rotate the two-year term of Chief Justice among themselves based on seniority.^[7] The state constitution requires that the Chief Justice presides over the court and is the "chief administrative officer of the state judicial system."^[8] William Ray Price is the current Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Notable decisions

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.

History of the court

With the adoption of the original constitution, the Supreme Court of the state was created in 1820. With this new court, three judges were charged to uphold it, Matthias McGirk, John Cook, and John Rice Jones. The court increased in 1872 to five judges, and again in 1890 to seven judges, the court's current number. The current red-brick Supreme Court building was finished in 1907, giving a permanent place for court hearings.^[9]

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.

See also

• Judicial Activist Organizations in Missouri
• Missouri judicial news
• Judicial selection in Missouri
• Missouri county circuit judges
• Missouri blogs

External links

• Missouri Supreme Court Official Site
• Chief justice proposes more openness in judge selections
• Show Me Better Judges

References

Portions of this article have been taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Copyright Notice can be found here.