Former Judges Say State's Selection Process Shouldn't Change
By: KOLR10 Newsroom
Updated: August 23, 2012
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- In November, Missouri voters will decide whether to change the way state judges are chosen.
Constitutional Amendment 3 would give the governor more authority to appoint a majority of the members on the commission that selects potential judges. It also removes the requirement that the governor's appointments be non-lawyers.
On Thursday, former Missouri Supreme Court judges stopped in Springfield to voice their opposition to the changes.
"For 70 years, the Missouri non-partisan court plan has produced judges who are accountable to the law and to the constitution and not to campaign contributors or politics," says Skip Walther with Missourians for Fair & Impartial Courts.
"It places all the power in the selection process and in the appointment process in the governor's office," says former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice John Holstein. "I think when you put too much power in one person, that's risky business."
The judges were appointed by both Republican and Democratic governors.
