WSJ Notes "Blunt's Trauma" with Judge Process

The Wall Street Journal is writing again about the way Missouri picks its judges, and criticizes the Show-Me state's judicial commission for its lack of "accountability."

"Intended to keep politics out of judicial selection, the commission increasingly brings its own agenda to the table. Despite a range of impressive applicants, the three finalists picked by the commission seemed chosen less for merit than for their sympathies with the interests of the state bar association that dominates the commission," writes the Journal Monday.

The piece points out conservative objections to Gov. Matt Blunt's recent selection of Judge Patricia Breckenridge to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat. "Mr. Blunt would certainly have been justified in rejecting all three candidates. The trouble is that doing so would have only kicked the choice back to the commission itself to pick the next Supreme Court justice -- hardly a step toward greater accountability," the piece says.

"That's the flaw in this "nonpartisan" process. Missouri voters are perfectly capable of deciding whether they agree with Mr. Blunt on judicial philosophy and holding the Governor accountable through the ballot box. Such accountability is exactly what the current system doesn't provide."