Judicial performance reviews now available
MF In the News – Court
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Judicial Performance Review Committee released its performance findings on Sept. 30 for the 50 nonpartisan judges who will be up for retention in the Nov. 3 general election. All Missouri voters will have at least two appellate judges appear in retention elections on their ballot this November.
“The Judicial Performance Review is a key component of Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan as it provides information to voters,” Debbie Dodge, committee chair, said in a news release. “Ultimately, voters have the final say in Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan through judicial retention elections.”
The committee reviewed the performance of 50 judges, including one Supreme Court of Missouri judge, five Court of Appeals judges, 28 circuit court judges and 16 associate circuit court judges in circuits where the judges are appointed under Missouri’s Non-Partisan Court Plan, also known as The Missouri Plan. The committee recommends all judges be retained.
“These reviews help make sure that the votes cast in the November elections are based on objective information about the performance of individual judges,” Dodge said. “We urge Missouri voters to use this information to make sure we have judges who are fair, impartial, and skilled.”
The complete performance review information of each judge is available at YourMissouriJudges.org.
The committee considers a variety of information about each judge, including lawyers’ ratings of the judges, jurors’ ratings of some trial judges and written opinions from judges.
The lawyers’ survey focused on key traits that judges need to render justice effectively and fairly, the news release stated. Jurors were asked a series of questions about the judge’s courtroom conduct.
Circuit and associate circuit judges were rated in areas including a wide range of observable skills and traits, such as treating people fairly, competency in the law, and writing clear opinions. Supreme Court of Missouri and Missouri Court of Appeals judges were rated on a different set of criteria as they decide cases that are appealed because of possible legal errors, either procedural or through misinterpretations of the law. These judges were rated on areas such as whether their opinions were clearly written, whether they adequately explained the basis of the court’s decision, and whether they issued opinions in a timely manner.
All identifiable information was removed from the survey results and the judges’ written opinions to ensure the committee did not know the identity of each judge they reviewed.
