ABILITY ON BENCH SHOULD BE WAY WE JUDGE JUDGES

On Nov. 3, voters will consider the retention of state judges. Under Missouri's non-partisan court plan, Supreme Court, appellate and some trial judges in larger counties are retained in office by voter approval. But general voter dissatisfaction has taken its toll. The judicial retention rate has been steadily falling to a low of 56.7 percent approval rate in recent years. In Missouri, judges must receive a majority vote to be retained.

It's simply not fair if voters are turning thumbs down on judges as a way to send a general negative message to government or our legal system. We must judge these judges by their performance on the bench.

Voters must also remember that these are state judges not the federal justices who determine desegregation funding in Missouri. Federal judges are appointed for life.

In all, 45 judges are up for retention statewide in November. Local voters will consider two Supreme Court judges, and six members of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. Cape Girardeau County voters will vote on Duane Benton and Elwood Thomas for the Missouri Supreme Court; and James Pudlowski, Clifford Ahrens, Paul Simon, Kathianne Knaup, Robert Crist, and Albert J. Stephan for the Court of Appeals. Voters in counties south and west of here will vote for judges in the Southern District of the Court of Appeals. They include: Kenneth Shrum, Kerry Montgomery, John Parrish and James Prewitt.

A recent survey by the Missouri Bar Association gives us insight into these judges' abilities. These attorneys try cases before these judges, and are familiar with their quality of work. The findings of the survey revealed that the majority of attorneys felt all up for retention are good judges, who serve Missouri well.

Lawyers favored retention of the Supreme Court judges by the following percentages: Thomas, 89.4 percent and Benton, 68.6 percent. Eastern district appellate judges were favored by the following percentages: Ahrens, 81.9 percent; Crane, 76.5 percent; Crist, 77 percent; Pudlowski, 75.7 percent; Simon, 85.2 percent; and Stephan, 76.2 percent. Southern district appellate judges earned the following retention rates from lawyers: Shrum, 87 percent; Montgomery, 87.7 percent; Parrish, 84.8 percent; and Prewitt, 88.9 percent.

They were judged on integrity, courtesy, fairness, clarity and legal analysis.

We realize many voters have no direct contact with these judges, which makes a retention vote difficult. Under Missouri's non-partisan plan, judges follow a strict code of professional conduct. They may not discuss their views on disputed legal issues or discuss pending cases. They cannot advertise publicizing their record of service like other officeholders. While it's good to keep judges apart from politics to ensure independence the lack of publicity can work against them as voters have little knowledge of their records. As courts of appeals, the cases are typically argued by lawyers, with no direct contact with the public.

In an unusual move, Missouri's Supreme Court and Appellate judges have made a renewed effort to reach out the public this past year. Many of these judges visited Southeast Missouri on a number of occasions to familiarize voters with their names and duties.

Most Missouri judges do their job well. Those who do not will come up before the state Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges. This body investigates all complaints of misconduct against judges.

Missouri's partisan plan provides voters with a high degree of accountability, judicial independence, and a way to remove special interest groups from the equation. It's important our judges are experienced they build on their knowledge of the law and administrative expertise. Missouri is fortunate to have a top-notch judiciary. To keep it that way, voters should retain our Supreme Court and Appellate judges on Nov. 3.