NEWS CLIPS

Blunt seems intent on picking a needless fight with state’s high court

Not often does a lawyer belittle a judge, much less the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

But it’s not really surprising to see lawyer Ed Martin, chief of staff to Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, breaking precedent. The governor himself is inappropriately contemptuous of judges in general, and also of the nationally respected process by which Missouri’s statewide judges are selected.

Martin and another of Blunt’s top staffers, general counsel Henry Herschel, have been going to great lengths to pick a fight with Missouri Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith and the Appellate Judicial Commission — a seven-member body that screens applicants for statewide judicial openings.

For two weeks, the governor’s office has badgered Stith, who heads the commission, about applicants for a seat on the Missouri Supreme Court. Martin’s missives are condescending and, in several instances, flatly erroneous.

Under a system copied by numerous states, the nominating commission in Missouri screens applicants for a judicial vacancy and recommends three finalists to the governor.

The commission consists of three members elected by lawyers, three chosen by governors, and the chief justice.

Blunt already has seated four appeals judges without a fuss. But he plainly is using the current Supreme Court vacancy to stir up resentment toward judges and create a campaign issue that will rile conservative voters.

“Game on,” Republican Rep. Jim Lembke of St. Louis said this week, signaling the eagerness for a fight.

Are Missouri Republicans so bereft of legitimate issues that they need to attack judges as a spectator sport? If so, they should expect trouble.

Polls show that Missouri’s judiciary enjoys a high level of public respect. The same might not hold true for governors and lawmakers who attempt to “fix” a process that shows no sign of being broken.

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