Retention of Judge Teitelman could ensure Democratic dominance

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- In his two-plus years on the Missouri Supreme Court, Judge Richard Teitelman has ruled with the prevailing side 92.3 percent of the time and provided the pivotal vote in several narrow 4-3 decisions.

Teitelman was appointed in March 2002 by Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat. On Nov. 2, Missouri voters will decide if Teitelman deserves a full 12-year term on the court.

Voters will simply mark their ballots "yes" or "no" concerning whether Teitelman should stay on the bench. In a survey of lawyers conducted by the Missouri Bar, 80.8 percent of respondents recommended Teitelman be retained.

Through a court spokeswoman, Teitelman declined comment as to why voters should retain him and referred to the Missouri Bar survey.

In the six decades the retention system has been in place, Missouri voters have never removed an appellate-level judge from office.

Balancing act

When Teitelman replaced Judge John Holstein, a Republican appointee, on the Supreme Court, he put judges selected by Democratic governors in the majority for the first time since the mid-1980s.

The court had been divided 4-3 in favor of Democratic appointees until last month when Holden named Judge Mary Rhodes Russell to replace Judge Duane Benton, giving Democrats a 5-2 advantage.

Although the court has continued to speak unanimously in most cases, Teitelman helped swing rulings in favor of the Democratic bloc a number of times, particularly in cases involving the death penalty.

In one such decision that could have national repercussions, the court ruled 4-3 to declare the death penalty unconstitutional for Missouri offenders who were 16 or 17 years old when they committed their crimes. The three Republican appointees then on court dissented, saying the majority effectively and improperly overruled a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court precedent upholding capital punishment for offenders in that age group.

The federal high court will hear Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon's appeal of that decision on Wednesday. Should that court uphold the Missouri ruling, death sentences for underage offenders could be void nationwide.

Of the 182 cases through Sept. 28 in which Teitelman has participated since joining the court, he was part of the majority 168 times. In the 27 cases in which he wrote majority opinion, however, strict partisan splits occurred in more than one third. Many of those cases overturned criminal convictions or sentences. Nearly half of the majority decisions he penned were unanimous, including in some criminal cases.

Teitelman is closely allied on the court with Chief Justice Ronnie White, an appointee of former Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan. Of the 14 cases in which Teitelman dissented, White joined him 11 times. Only once has Teitelman sided with the majority when White dissented.

Teitelman, 57, served on the St. Louis-based Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District from 1998 to 2002. When Teitelman stood for retention to that post, to which Carnahan appointed him, he garnered a 63.5 percent favorable vote.

Prior to becoming a judge, he spent 23 years providing legal services to the poor. He earned his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1973.

He is both the first Jewish and first blind judge to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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