White not planning to leave state high court

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Despite widespread rumors to the contrary, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronnie White on Tuesday said he has no immediate plans to step down from the bench, although he is interested in pursuing another career at some point.

There has been much speculation in recent months that White would leave the court once his two-year term as chief justice ends Friday. White joked that his imminent departure has been anticipated almost from the moment he joined the court in 1995.

"I've heard that rumor ever since I came to town 10 years ago," White said. "I keep all of my options open and believe me, I do have some. But when I decide that I'm going to retire from the court, we'll have another press conference, and I'll say it."

Although he doesn't plan to depart any time soon, White said he is unsure if he will serve the remainder of his current 12-year term, which runs through 2008. At age 52, White said he feels young enough to explore other interests and would like to do so.

However, he ruled out the possibility of another shot at a federal judgeship. President Bill Clinton named White to the federal bench in the late 1990s, but then-U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., blocked the nomination in the Senate for more than two years before eventually engineering its defeat.

Vacancy options

Some Republicans had been hoping White might soon create a vacancy as it would give Republican Gov. Matt Blunt his first opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court judge. Democratic nominees currently hold a 5-2 court majority. None of the other judges is expected to resign in the near future.

White commented about his plans while speaking to reporters about his tenure as the first black chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. Judge Michael Wolff will succeed him. Both judges were appointed by the late governor Mel Carnahan, a Democrat.

While White somewhat downplayed the significance of being the first black court leader when he assumed the job, he has come to view his tenure as an important milestone in the racial history of the state and its judiciary.

"It means a lot, and it's a lot bigger job than I could have imagined a few years ago," White said. "I honestly underestimated what it means."

Supreme Court Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr. of Cape Girardeau said White's breaking of the color barrier on the court was important symbolically.

"It showed that the makeup of the court represents the diversity of the state as a whole," Limbaugh said.

At the start of his tenure, White made fostering greater diversity throughout Missouri's judicial system as a top goal. He said progress has been achieved on that front.

"Not only do we have diversity in race, but we also have diversity in thought," White said. "I think that has come a long way."

White admitted to having less success on his two other primary goals -- improving court automation and expanding Missouris nonpartisan court plan.

Automation efforts were stymied by the states serious financial problems in recent years, and White said the funding simply wasn't available to improve the system.

He was greatly surprised, however, at the resistance that met his proposal to expand the nonpartisan plan to Greene, Jefferson and St. Charles counties, which are the most populous Missouri counties that haven't adopted it.

Under the plan, appellate judges and trial judges in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas are appointed rather than elected, as in the case with most Missouri judges.

With judicial campaigns in the counties White targeted becoming increasingly expensive, White said partisan elections funded by special interests can undermine the integrity of the judiciary. However, he predicts the nonpartisan plan will eventually expand.

"I do think that in time it will happen," White said. "I don't know what it is going to take to make some of those populated areas participate in the plan."

mpowers@semissourian.com

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