The Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, also known as the merit plan, or some variation) is a method for the selection of judges. It originated in Missouri in 1940, and has been adopted by several states of the United States. Similar methods are used in some other countries.
Under the Plan, a non-partisan commission reviews candidates for a judicial vacancy. The commission then sends to the governor a list of candidates considered best qualified. The governor then has sixty days to select a candidate from the list. If the governor does not make a selection within sixty days, the commission makes the selection.
At the general election soonest after the completion of one year's service, the judge must stand in a "retention election". If a majority vote against retention, the judge is removed from office, and the process starts anew. If the majority vote in favor of retention, the judge serves out a full term.
Read more about Missouri Plan: Nonpartisan Judicial Commissions Under The Plan, History and Spread of The Plan, Criticism
Other articles related to "missouri plan, missouri":
... The Wall Street Journal wrote "If the recent slugfests have proven anything, it's that Missouri's courts are every bit as hung up in politics as they are in other states ... The difference is that in Missouri the process happens behind closed doors." Similarly, Professor Brian T ... a part of judicial selection in Missouri Plan states, writing, “In short, I am skeptical that merit selection removes politics from judicial selection ...
... Better Courts for Missouri is an American 501(c)(4) organization that has proposed changes be made to the Missouri Plan for selecting judges ... Louis Post Dispatch has described it as an opponent of the Missouri plan ... Better Courts for Missouri has proposed enacting several changes to the judicial selection process, including increasing the nominees submitted to the governor ...
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