The Missouri Bar has partnered with the Missouri Humanities Council to produce a traveling exhibit and courthouse exhibits to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Missouri Plan and to help educate Missourians about how all Missouri judges are accountable to the voters.
The Missouri Plan, otherwise known as the Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan, was adopted by Missourians in 1940. Since then, more than 30 other states have copied it in some form. The plan reduces the influence of politics and money in the selection of our judges, while giving the people the final say serving as a model for the nation for 75 years.
The plan governs selection and retention of all appellate court judges in the state of Missouri and trial judges in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis, Jackson, Clay, Platte and Greene Counties.
The exhibits will help the public better understand how judges in Missouri are selected and retained.
The traveling exhibit features a three-panel display and an interactive touch-screen display featuring a video explaining the history, significance and attributes of the Missouri Plan. The exhibit will travel throughout the state over the next year.
The courthouse exhibit is a single-panel, educational display that contains the key points of the Missouri Plan. Courthouses and public institutions across the state are eligible to receive this exhibit at no expense. The display is ideal for smaller spaces and can be featured long-term by host courthouses, libraries or educational institutions. Both exhibits include a takeaway brochure titled “Voting for Missouri Judges” produced by The Missouri Bar.
Both exhibits will be on display for preview at the Missouri Bar Annual Meeting and Judicial Conference to be held October 6-9, 2015, in St. Louis.
If you are interested in featuring one or both of the Missouri Plan exhibits, please fill out the request form here.