Among other things Missouri’s Amendment 3 would change is the role of the state’s Supreme Court, and in particular the service of one of its members.
Judges as members of the Missouri commissions
Under the state’s constitution there are two types of judicial nominating commissions: one that serves to fill vacancies in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals (“The Appellate Judicial Commission”) and separate ones for each circuit or county that has merit selection (“The …… Circuit Judicial Commission”). Presently, the state’s Supreme Court picks one of its own members to serve on the Appellate Judicial Commission; for Circuit Judicial Commissions the chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the area serves. The constitution doesn’t require that the chair of the commission by the Supreme Court Judge (members of the Missouri Supreme Court are properly referred to as Judges, except the Chief Justice) or Court of Appeals Judge, although it appears the Judges do serve as chair in practice.
Amendment 3: Remove the sitting Supreme Court judge
If approved by voters, Amendment 3 would remove the provision for a sitting member of the state Supreme Court from serving on the Appellate Judicial Commission. Instead, a retired judge meeting certain criteria would be added as a non-voting member.
The members of the supreme court shall select a former judge, who has not lost a retention election or been removed for cause, of the court of appeals or the supreme court to serve as the nonvoting member of the commission…The voting members of the commission shall select one of the voting members to serve as chairman.
Not only does the provision remove the sitting judge from the Appellate Judicial Commission, it expressly precludes the retired judge to be named from serving as chair of the commission.
Constitutional provisions for judges as members of other merit selection commissions
States are about evenly divided on whether there is a state constitutional provision requiring a judge serve on nominating commissions; some states like South Dakota that have no constitutional requirement for judges to sit on such commissions have done so by statute where the constitution grants the legislature discretion to establish the composition of such bodies.
Details below the fold.
| State | Body | Level of court | Constitution requires | ||
| judge serve? | judge chair? | judge vote? | |||
| Alaska | Judicial Council | Trial and appellate | Chief Justice | Yes | Yes |
| Arizona | Commission on Appellate Court Appointments | Appellate | Chief Justice | Yes | Yes |
| Arizona | Commission on Trial Court Appointments | Trial and appellate | Chief Justice | Yes | Yes |
| Colorado | Supreme Court Nominating Commission | Appellate (including Court of Appeals, despite name) | Chief Justice | Yes | No, expressly prohibited |
| Colorado | Judicial District Nominating Commission | Trial | S.C. Justice | Yes | No, expressly prohibited |
| Connecticut | Judicial Selection Commission | Trial and appellate | No | N/A | N/A |
| Florida | Judicial Nominating Commission (Supreme Court) | Supreme Court | No | N/A | N/A |
| Florida | Judicial Nominating Commission (District Court of Appeals, 1 per district) | District Court of Appeals | No | N/A | N/A |
| Hawaii | Judicial Selection Commission | Trial and appellate | No | N/A | N/A |
| Indiana | Judicial nominating commission for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals | Appellate | Chief Justice | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa | State Judicial Nominating Commission | Supreme Court (and Court of Appeals, by statute only) | Most senior S.C. Justice OTHER than Chief Justice | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa | District Judicial Nominating Commission | Trial | Most senior district judge | Yes | Yes |
| Kansas | Supreme Court Nominating Commission | Supreme Court (and Court of Appeals, by statute only) | No | N/A | N/A |
| Missouri | Appellate Judicial Commission | Appellate | Yes | No | Yes |
| Missouri | Circuit Judicial Commissions | Trial | Yes | No | Yes |
| Nebraska | Judicial Nominating Commission (office of Chief Justice) | Chief Justice | S.C. Justice chosen by Governor | Yes | No, expressly prohibited |
| Nebraska | Judicial Nominating Commission (Supreme Court & Court of Appeals, by statute) | Appellate | S.C. Justice chosen by Governor | Yes | No, expressly prohibited |
| Nebraska | Judicial Nominating Commission (Trial Courts) | Trial | S.C. Justice chosen by Governor | Yes | No, expressly prohibited |
| New Mexico | Appellate judges nominating commission | Appellate | Chief Justice + 2 Court of Appeals Judges | No | Yes |
| New Mexico | District Court Judges Nominating Committee | Trial | Chief Judge for District + 1 Court of Appeals Judge | No | Yes |
| New Mexico | Metropolitan Court Judges Nominating Committee | Trial | Chief Judge for District | No | Yes |
| New York | Commission on Judicial Nomination | State’s court of last resort (Court of Appeals) only | No | N/A | N/A |
| Oklahoma | Judicial Nominating Commission | Appellate | No | N/A | N/A |
| Rhode Island | Judicial Nominating Commission | Trial and appellate | No | N/A | N/A |
| South Carolina | Judicial Merit Selection Commission | Trial and appellate | No | N/A | N/A |
| South Dakota | Judicial Qualifications Commission | Appellate | No | N/A | N/A |
| Utah | Judicial Nominating Commission (Appellate) | Appellate | No | N/A | N/A |
| Utah | Judicial Nominating Commission (Trial) | Trial | No | N/A | N/A |
| Vermont | “a judicial nominating body”; called Judicial Nominating Board by statute | Appellate & select Trial (Superior & District) | No | N/A | N/A |
| Wyoming | Judicial Nominating Commission | Trial and appellate | Chief Justice | Yes | Yes, but only to break ties |
