White to make diversity a priority in system

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The man who opposed the nomination of John Ashcroft as the U.S. attorney general is now poised to become the first black chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Ronnie L. White, 50, who takes over as head of the seven-member court next Tuesday, told reporters Wednesday that his top priority would be to encourage diversity within Missouri's court system.

"I truly believe that within the judicial department, we need to work a little bit harder to try and place people of color within our organization," White said. "It's not a big deal that Ronnie White is the chief justice, it's that a person of color can become chief."

White, who grew up in a segregated part of St. Louis, was appointed the first black member of the Supreme Court in 1995 and likely would not have become chief justice had it not been for Ashcroft.

White was twice nominated by former President Bill Clinton to serve on the federal bench. But Ashcroft -- then a Republican senator from Missouri -- led a Senate fight against White that ended in 1999 with the defeat of his nomination.

Ashcroft, a former Missouri governor, contended at the time that White was soft on the death penalty. Two years later, White testified against Ashcroft as the Senate considered whether to confirm Ashcroft as attorney general.

"I don't dwell on the past, I'm looking forward to the future," White said when asked Wednesday about Ashcroft. "If you hold in that frustration and hostility, you can't be productive ... I think every experience you go through in life, whether it's a success or failure, makes you stronger. If it doesn't make you stronger, it makes you wiser. And I think I'm wiser because of it."

Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, where the chief justice is appointed by the president and serves indefinitely, Missouri's chief justice rotates every two years by seniority.

White officially was elected to the top position by colleagues last month.

White's father, Orville, was a postal worker and his mother, Delores, was a housekeeper. White swept floors, waited tables and served a brief stint as a postal worker in order to get himself through college and law school.

He remembers when the civil rights movement hit its stride and his father's promise that things would be different for blacks. It's one of the reasons he became a lawyer.

"I couldn't believe how the law could hold back a whole race of people," said White, one of only three blacks in his graduating class at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

White became a student council representative and president of the Black Law Students Association. But he also went on academic probation at one point. And after graduation, he failed the Missouri bar exam once.

After passing the bar, White defended indigent suspects for the St. Louis public defender's office and later opened a private practice. He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in a special election in 1989 and resigned in 1993 to become city counselor under St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr.

Unique perspectives

Outgoing Chief Justice Stephen Limbaugh Jr., an Ashcroft appointee, said White's diverse background provides the court with unique perspectives.

"I think the most important contribution he makes to the court is that he brings so many perspectives from his life experiences," said Limbaugh, the cousin of conservative talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh. "If you look at the broad-based experience, it's excellent."

While White and Limbaugh sometimes disagree agree on legal cases, they consider each other friends.

"He's low key, but he is as friendly a fella as you'll meet," Limbaugh said.

"I believe that man would give me the shirt off his back if need be," said White, who added that he also works well with the other five judges on the court.

White said his other priorities as chief justice include expanding the state's non-partisan judicial plan and continuing to implement a long-running court computerization program.

Asked about speculation that he might seek the 2004 Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Kit Bond, White said that's not likely.

White explained that leading Democrats had tried to get officials in St. Louis to convince the judge to consider the race.

"Right now, I'm not considering anything but being a good chief justice," White said. "I'm not going to speculate on what other people want me to do."