Judicial commission hears from Supreme Court hopefuls

Three of 30 applicants to move to governor for consideration

By tonight, the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission expects to have decided which three of the 30 Supreme Court applicants it will nominate for Gov. Eric Greitens' consideration, to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created when Judge Richard Teitelman died last November.

State Rep. Jay Barnes and Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, both of Jefferson City, were among the 17 applicants the seven-member commission questioned Tuesday.

The other 13 applicants are scheduled to be interviewed this morning and early this afternoon, before the commissioners go into a closed-door meeting to consider which names will go to Greitens.

Under Missouri's Nonpartisan Court Plan, the governor will have 60 days to choose one of the three. If he doesn't make an appointment, the Constitution says the commissioners will make it.

Each applicant appeared before the commission for about 20 minutes, and before being questioned by the panel, all the applicants were given an opportunity to explain why they should be among the three names sent to Greitens.

"I have a broad and deep experience in the law," Barnes said, noting his work in the executive branch (during the Matt Blunt administration), the Legislature and in his private law practice.

"I think it's important that I come straight from private practice, (because) if lawyers are doing their job correctly, they know their case better than the judges do.

"And it's important for judges to understand that role of attorneys, to be willing to listen to them and to be open minded."

Beetem noted he's been a lawyer for 25 years, including the last decade as a circuit judge.

He pointed to his experiences in family, juvenile, probate and administrative law, then added: "In addition to the regular stuff - like the divorce case I heard this morning and the juvenile case I did this afternoon - I do all the government stuff (Supreme Court judges) do, whether it comes to elections, the constitutionality of something or whether or not a law which required you to close strip clubs was constitutional."

That's because the Cole County Circuit Court, serving the seat of state government, handles the challenges to ballot proposals and most lawsuits filed against the state and its agencies.

"At the end of the day, I bring bench experience to this court in areas that I think will benefit the court," Beetem said.

All of Tuesday's applicants said judges must make rulings based on the Missouri Constitution, state laws and the facts of a case - regardless of their personal views.

"Sometimes, no one likes the result," Beetem explained, "but that's the result of an individual case.

"What you have to have is the result compelled by the law and so we go back to what the law is."

Barnes told the commission: "As a lawmaker, I have a lot of freedom to say what the law ought to be, (but) the role of this court is to say what the law is, without regard to the parties involved or the judges' personal philosophies."

Both men - and most of the other applicants - said one of the challenges facing the Supreme Court is helping Missourians have a better understanding of what the courts do and how they operate.

Several of the applicants also said, while Missouri has been a leader in using technology to improve court operations and the public's access to court information, more needs to be done in the coming years.

Among the other applicants were two former lawmakers - Jack Goodman, of Mount Vernon, now a circuit judge, and Steve Ehlmann, of St. Charles, who has been a judge and currently is St. Charles County's chief executive - and two appeals court judges, Gary Lynch, of the Springfield-based Southern District, and Lisa White Hardwick, of the Western District in Kansas City.

Among the applicants on Wednesday's schedule is Assistant Attorney General Shaun Mackelprang, of Jefferson City.

Ed Martin, a St. Louis attorney who once served as Gov. Matt Blunt's chief of staff, originally applied for the post but recently withdrew his application.