Law barring convicts as candidates ruled unconstitutional

~ Attorney General Jay Nixon said he would appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A state law barring people convicted of a federal felony or misdemeanor from running for office is unconstitutional, a circuit judge ruled Monday.

Cole County Circuit Judge Richard Callahan ruled in favor of Henry Rizzo, a member of the Jackson County legislature and former state House member who challenged the law.

Rizzo, a Kansas City Democrat, seeks re-election to the county seat but would be barred from running by the new state law because of a federal misdemeanor conviction in 1991 of providing a false statement to a financial institution.

The law was passed last year as part of a much broader bill dealing with local government. Callahan said the provision on who can hold elective office violates the U.S. and state constitutions' equal protection clauses.

He found that there is no rational basis for limiting public office based on federal convictions but not state ones.

He noted that in most cases, those with state felony convictions still can hold public office in Missouri once they have served their sentences.

The law treats people with federal misdemeanor convictions differently than those with state felony convictions. This different treatment is not "rationally related to the subject of the legislation -- protecting the integrity of the political process," Callahan said in his ruling.

Attorney General Jay Nixon said he would appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court and seek a quick ruling, as the deadline to file to run in party primaries for many state and county offices is March 28.

"We will be appealing directly and immediately to the state Supreme Court to keep federal criminals off our ballots as the legislature intended," Nixon said in a statement.

The judge said federal crimes are not always more serious than state crimes, noting federal misdemeanors include "introducing into interstate commerce a residential refrigerator which cannot be opened from the inside" and trespassing on federal land.

Rizzo said he believed the law was payback for political disagreements he had with state Sen. Victor Callahan, an Independence Democrat.

"It's a terrible waste of state resources to try to settle political feuds with state legislation," he said. "I am so glad there are checks and balances on the system that provide when you're the victim, like I was, that it can be solved through litigation."

Sen. Callahan, who is not related to the judge, denied Rizzo's accusation and said the law is simply a matter of good policy.

"It's fine for Mr. Rizzo to delusionally believe it's about himself," Callahan said, adding that it's good public policy to prevent people convicted of federal crimes from serving in public office.

He also said he would work to change state law to bar those convicted of state felonies from holding public office.

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Case number is 05AC-CC01137.

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