Holden helped diversify judiciary

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Although Gov. Bob Holden's turbulent term as Missouri's chief executive likely will be most remembered for his bitter fights with the Republican-led legislature, the Democrat will leave a lasting mark on the composition of the state judiciary.

With his appointment last week of Judge Mary Rhodes Russell, the Missouri Supreme Court will simultaneously have two female members for the first time. The other is Judge Laura Denvir Stith, also a Holden appointee.

But Holden's legacy for diversity in his judicial selections extends beyond putting two women on the Supreme Court. Of the 28 judges Holden has appointed under Missouri's nonpartisan court plan, 18 are either women or minorities.

"I believe a bench that reflects the diversity of our state helps maintain confidence in the judicial system," Holden said in statement. "And I believe my appointments reflect this."

Since taking office in January 2001, Holden has named 16 women, including five black women, and two black men to the bench. Six of those appointments were at the appellate level, while the other 12 were to circuit courts in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas. Circuit judges in the rest of Missouri are chosen through standard partisan elections.

One more to make

Before his term ends in January, Holden will likely have at least one more judicial selection to make, as Russell's appointment to the high court creates a vacancy on the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District in St. Louis.

In addition to pursuing racial and gender diversity, Holden also made Judge Richard Teitelman both the first Jewish and the first legally blind member of the Supreme Court.

Diane Howard, a Cape Girardeau lawyer, said that when she was attending law school in the 1970s, it was considered somewhat groundbreaking that women comprised roughly a quarter of her class. In recent years, more than half of all law school graduates nationally have been women. Howard said the greater inclusiveness of Missouri courts is a natural progression.

"Now that we have many more women in the profession, of course we are going to have many more women on the bench," Howard said.

During a quarter-century sitting on the Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District in Springfield, Judge James Prewitt has witnessed a change in the demographics of Missouri lawyers and judges. Prewitt is currently the longest-serving state appellate judge.

"It is good to have people of different backgrounds," Prewitt said. "It shouldn't be a group of white men like it was for so many years."

More urban makeup

While the seven-member Supreme Court today boasts more racial and gender diversity than it did a decade ago, in other aspects it has become more uniform.

For example, five members hail from Missouri's two main urban areas -- six if you count Russell, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood but grew up and practiced law in Hannibal before becoming a judge. Stephen Limbaugh Jr. of Cape Girardeau is the court's only other member from outstate Missouri.

Also, all three Holden appointees were promoted from the Court of Appeals, as was Chief Justice Ronnie White, who became the first black member of the high court in 1995. Together, the appeals court graduates constitute a majority.

The judges who haven't served on the Court of Appeals are William Ray Price Jr., who came to the high court from a Kansas City law firm; Limbaugh, a former circuit judge in Cape Girardeau County; and Michael Wolff, who was a St. Louis University law professor.

Missouri Bar president Bill Corrigan of St. Louis said the primary concern in selecting Supreme Court judges should be professional qualifications, not how they became qualified.

"Where those lawyers come from -- whether private practice, trial courts, appellate courts or law faculties -- isn't as important as having outstanding lawyers," Corrigan said.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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