No place for politics in judicial selection process
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No place for politics in judicial selection process

Date: February 5, 2008
By: Suvro Banerji
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: Missouri Chief Justice urges lawmakers to keep their hands off nonpartisan selection process of the state judges. Suvro Banerji (SUE-vro BAN-er-gee) has more from the state capitol.

RunTime:0:35
OutCue: SOC

There were mixed reactions among the Missouri lawmakers when the state's Chief Justice Laura Stith urged the nonpartisan plan for selecting judges.

During a joint session of the General Assembly, the state's highest judge says that the system keeps politics out of judicial selection.

Actuality:  STITHBT.WAV
Run Time: 00:22
Description: "In the nearly three-quarters of a century since its adoption, Missouri's nonpartisan merit-selection court plan has worked well in attracting high-quality judges in the least political way..."

While the Democrats applauded to the speech of the Chief Justice, a Republican critic charged the system giving too much power to lawyers in selecting judges.

Reporting from Jefferson City, this is Suvro Banerji.