Supreme Court of Missouri

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Missouri State Supreme Court building across from state capitol in Jefferson City

The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820, and is located in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction - the sole legal power to hear - five types of cases on appeal. Pursuant to Article V, Section 3 of the Missouri Constitution, these cases involve:

• The validity of a United States statute or treaty.
• The validity of a Missouri statute or constitutional provision.
• The state's revenue laws.
• Challenges to a statewide elected official's right to hold office.
• Imposition of the death penalty.

Unless their case involves one of those five issues, people who want a trial court's decision reviewed must appeal to the Missouri Court of Appeals. Most of these cases involve routine legal questions and end there. The Court of Appeals is divided geographically into the Eastern District, Western District and Southern District.

Certain cases, however, can be transferred to the Supreme Court - at the Court's discretion - if it determines that a question of general interest or importance is involved, that the laws should be re-examined, or that the lower court's decision conflicts with an earlier appellate decision. This is similar to the process the United States Supreme Court uses in accepting cases.

[edit] Judicial Selection

Judges of the court are selected through the non-partisan plan, nationally known as the Missouri Plan. Under the plan, the Appellate Judicial Commission submits the names of three applicants to the Governor. If the Governor fails to make a nomination, the Commission shall make the appointment. Once the judge has served for at least a year, he or she will be placed on the general election ballot for a retention vote of the people. If retained, judges serve a term of 12 years.

[edit] Notable cases

The following are notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of Missouri or which came to the Supreme Court of the United States from the Supreme Court of Missouri.

• Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, 760 S.W.2d 408 (Mo. banc 1988), 497 U.S. 261 (1990)
  • Euthenasia, right to die; holding that it requires "clear and convincing evidence" to remove a person's life support; affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Dred Scott v. Sandford, 15 Mo. 576 (1852), 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1856)
  • Slavery; holding that slaves taken into free states remained slaves; affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States, creating a precursor to the American Civil War.
• Drope v. Missouri, 462 S.W.2d 677 (Mo. banc 1971), 420 U.S. 162 (1975)
  • Competency; holding that the fact that a criminal defendant attempted suicide before trial does not constitute reasonable doubt as to his competency; reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Lavender v. Kurn, 354 Mo. 196, 189 S.W.2d 253 (1945), 327 U.S. 645 (1946)
  • Evidence; holding that Due Process means that an inference of negligence is not enough to send a case to a jury in a tort case; reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Minor v. Happersett, 53 Mo. 58 (1873), 88 U.S. 162 (1875)
  • Women's suffrage; holding that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not guarantee a woman the right to vote; affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 342 Mo. 121, 113 S.W.2d 783 (1938), 305 U.S. 337 (1938)
  • Racial segregation; holding that a state which provides only one educational institution need not allow blacks and whites to attend if there is no separate school for blacks; reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States as not meeting the separate but equal standard of Plessy v. Ferguson.
• Missouri v. Seibert, 93 S.W.3d 700 (Mo. banc 2002), 542 U.S. 600 (2004)
  • Miranda warnings; holding that Missouri's practice of interrogating suspects without reading them a Miranda warning, then reading them a Miranda warning and asking them to repeat their confession is unconstitutional; affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Rachel v. Walker, 4 Mo. 350 (1836)
  • Slavery; holding that slaves taken into free states became free; overturned twenty years later by Dred Scott v. Sandford.
• Roper v. Simmons, 112 S.W.3d 397 (Mo. banc 2003), 543 U.S. 551 (2005)
  • Capital punishment; holding that the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed; affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Shelley v. Kraemer, 198 S.W.2d 679 (Mo. banc 1947), 334 U.S. 1 (1948)
  • Racial segregation; holding that the Fourteenth Amendment does not prohibit a state from enforcing restrictive covenants which would prohibit a person from owning or occupying property on the basis of race or color; reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States.

[edit] Current Judges

With the appointment of Patricia Breckenridge in September 2007, there is now a full allocation of seven judges on the court. The judges rotate the two-year term of Chief Justice among themselves based on seniority.^[1] The Chief Justice is Constitutionally empowered to preside over the court and to be the "chief administrative officer" of the state judicial system.^[2]

See also: List of judges of the Supreme Court of Missouri

[edit] Clerk of the Supreme Court

The clerk of the Supreme Court is responsible for a wide range of duties, including the supervision of the internal administrative function of the Court itself as well as the planning and administrative direction of the Missouri Judicial Conference, the organization of all the state's judges. The current clerk is Thomas F. Simon.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Supreme Court of Missouri webpage