Judicial nominating panel denies open records violations

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A special commission that picks candidates for Missouri's appellate courts defended itself Tuesday as a state lawmaker claimed its secretive process violated state open records laws.

The seven-member Appellate Judicial Commission recently submitted three nominees to the governor to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court. It settled upon the finalists during a secret meeting and claims it is not covered by a Missouri law that requires most governmental meetings and records to be open to the public.

Republican Gov. Matt Blunt claims the commission also has not provided his office with all the documentation he desires about the applicants. Blunt's office has asked the finalists to answer an additional 111 questions as part of his review.

Rep. Jim Lembke, chairman of the House appropriations committee that handles the judiciary's budget, asserted Tuesday that the full list of applicants for the Supreme Court vacancy should have been public. He also contends their selection meeting should have been open to the public and that the panel should make public any documents from its interviews with candidates.

"The Sunshine Law has been violated," Lembke, R-St. Louis, said at a news conference on the Supreme Court steps.

The judicial selection commission released a statement later Tuesday noting it is created by the Missouri Constitution and is governed by Supreme Court rules, which require that its proceedings be kept confidential. The commission said it was not subject to the Sunshine Law.

The panel also stressed that by naming the three finalists for judicial vacancies, it makes public more information than usually accompanies other gubernatorial appointments. Governors typically announce only the person they are appointing to a position, not the other finalists they considered.

"In stark contrast to the picture being painted by certain politicians and others, the constitutional provisions and rules governing the judicial nominating commissions do not deprive the public of necessary information about the candidates to fill appellate vacancies," said the statement signed by commission secretary Richard McLeod.

Lembke said he will sponsor legislation during the 2008 session specifically stating that judicial selection commissions are subject to the state Sunshine Law.