Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan

E530072

The Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan is a judicial selection system that uses nonpartisan commissions to nominate judges based on merit, followed by gubernatorial appointment and periodic retention elections.

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Statements (32)

Predicate Object
instanceOf judicial selection system
merit-based judicial selection system
aimsTo improve quality of the judiciary
promote judicial independence
reduce partisan influence in judicial selection
alsoKnownAs Missouri Plan NERFINISHED
Nonpartisan Court Plan NERFINISHED
appliesToCourt Missouri Court of Appeals NERFINISHED
Missouri Supreme Court NERFINISHED
certain Missouri circuit courts
appliesToJurisdiction State of Missouri NERFINISHED
country United States of America
surface form: United States
evaluationMechanism periodic performance review of judges prior to retention elections
public retention vote on judges after an initial term
feature judicial candidates do not run in contested partisan elections
judicial nominating commissions include lawyers and non-lawyers
voters decide whether to retain judges in yes-or-no retention elections
governsSelectionOf judges in participating Missouri courts
hasComponent Appellate Judicial Commission NERFINISHED
circuit judicial commissions in participating circuits
inception 1940
influenced adoption of similar merit selection systems in other U.S. states
legalForm state constitutional and statutory provisions
originatedIn Missouri NERFINISHED
selectionBasis merit
selectionProcessStep appointment of a judge by the governor from a list of nominees
nomination of judicial candidates by a nonpartisan commission
subsequent retention election for the appointed judge
subjectOf debates over judicial accountability and independence in Missouri
usesSelectionMethod gubernatorial appointment of judges
nonpartisan judicial nominating commissions
retention elections

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Missouri Courts of Appeals hasJudgeSelectionMethod Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan
Missouri Supreme Court judgesSelectionMethod Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan