Missouri Plan

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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. It is a method to combine election and appointment of judges.

1 History and spread of the plan
2 External links

[edit] History and spread of the plan

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 12 states currently using the Missouri Plan are: Alaska, Arizona,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 court