JUDGE GILBERT IS GOOD ADDITION TO COURT SYSTEM

Cape Girardeau has finally resolved a long-standing legal impasse with the hiring of a special municipal court judge. Cape Girardeau attorney Paul V. Gilbert will handle disqualification cases on a part-time basis. His first docket has been scheduled Aug. 9.

His presence should allow the municipal court to operate more efficiently. A second judge should bring swifter justice in cases that Municipal Court Judge Edward Calvin is disqualified from.

It's good that Cape Girardeau has finally put this controversy to rest. A disagreement by city-court and circuit judges on procedures for assigning judges in municipal cases has led to a needless backlog.

Historically, disqualification cases were handled reciprocally by Cape Girardeau and Jackson judges until then-Circuit Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. ruled in 1990 that the arrangement violated state statute. Limbaugh assigned these cases to Associate Circuit Judge Bill Hopkins of Marble Hill on a temporary basis, while urging the city to hire a second part-time judge.

But the city dragged its feet, feeling that if Judge Hopkins had the time, his assistance was much more cost effective. We can't blame anyone for wanting to save tax dollars.

But in the fall of 1991, Circuit Judge A.J. Seier stopped assigning the disqualification cases all together, saying he did not have the legal authority to do so. The city council then moved last October, approving an ordinance to establish the special judge.

The need for a special judge was underscored by actions of the chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court in late April. Chief Justice Edward D. Robertson said he was ending the temporary practice of assigning Hopkins to hear these disqualification cases. He said it was up to the city to make other arrangements.

And so it did.

The city advertised for the position until late May, and recently hired Gilbert. He seems well suited for the job. He is familiar with Cape Girardeau, having worked with the local firm of Thomasson, Dickerson, Gilbert & Cook for the past 24 years. He also follows in the tradition of his grandfather, Charles Monroe Gilbert, who served as a city justice of the peace prior to his death in 1944.

Our court rift gained some statewide attention as well. Last June, Justice Robertson addressed the matter personally, hearing 47 disqualification cases in Cape Girardeau Municipal Court. It's not the kind of attention we relish.

Yes, this option will cost Cape Girardeau more money. But the judge's salary can be paid from municipal court revenues. In the long run, this is the most practical solution to a knotty legal dilemma. Judge Gilbert makes a good addition to our municipal court system.