2008 MetroVoice’s Recommendations on the

Retention and Rejection of Judges

Commentary by Jim Day

One of the most frustrating tasks every voter has whenever judges are up for election (to retain or not to retain them) is trying to find out anything about them – most importantly, are they ‘activist’ judges; the kind who base their decisions on their own personal political or social agendas who, in effect, make public policy and ignore the separation of powers or, are they ‘strict constructionists’ who practice judicial restraint and adhere to the rule of law which is an application of the letter of the law which includes the law’s original purpose.

The most egregious examples of ‘judicial activism’ were under Chief Justice Earl Warren on the U.S. Supreme Court between 1953 and 1969 and Associate Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. The Warren Court flagrantly violated the separation of powers by effectively making public policy and willfully inserting its liberal political values and social agendas through a wide range of decisions. Blackmun of course is infamous among those who cherish the sanctity of life for his 1973 majority opinion in Roe v. Wade which legalized the murder of millions of innocent children through abortion.

In Missouri, on top of a number of activist judges, when you add in a Bar Association which is replete with leftist, liberal attorneys and a Secretary of State who delights in approving deceptive, misleading ballot language written by her leftist, liberal cronies, you have a judicial system that practically eliminates the need for legislators and puts a smile on the face of every liberal, socialist/Marxist in the State.

I want to add that I did not mean to paint all attorneys and judges in Missouri as being liberal, leftist, socialists. There are number of good, honest, conservative, God honoring attorneys and judges in our State who do truly serve the people. To those attorneys and justices who fall within this category who may have been offended by my broad brushed comments above, I apologize. I was definitely not speaking about you.
Sorry folks, I digress. Back to trying to ascertain which judge to vote for and which judge to send packing.

The only way to really determine whether a judge is an ‘activist’ or one who practices ‘judicial restrain’ is to literally review the history of their case decisions, which is an overwhelming and time consuming task for anyone. Some people try to make their decision on whether to retain or dump a judge based upon which Governor appointed the judge but, that’s not fool proof. Some of our most conservative Governors have appointed judges who they thought applied judicial restrain to their decisions only to find out later that they were activist wolves in sheep’s clothing. And, to make matters worse for any conservative Governor today, under our present system which allows a Governor to select a judge to place on the bench, the Governor is forced to choose only judges who are first approved by unelected Judicial Commissioners who are NOT accountable to the citizens of Missouri. The Commissions that these people sit on are basically controlled by the Bar Association and leftist leaning organizations. Unfortunately, the bottom line is that the Governor is limited (if not prevented) from appointing judges in a true publicly accountable manner. Again, the Marxists have big grins on their faces.

In attempting to supply voters with some recommendations on which judges to retain and which ones not to retain, I consulted with several individuals whose judgment I trust. However even they cautioned me to tell our readers to try to do their homework on the judges listed below. The following are the MetroVoice’s recommendations for voting to retain or not to retain judges on the Missouri Supreme Court, the Eastern District Court of Appeals and within the 21st and 22nd Judicial Districts which cover St. Louis County and City.

Missouri Supreme Court

Patricia Breckenridge – VOTE NO not to retain

Eastern District Court of Appeals

Robert Dowd Jr. – VOTE YES to retain

Kurt S. Odenwald – VOTE YES to retain

Roy L. Richter – VOTE YES to retain

Circuit Judges - 21st Judicial District

Robert S. Cohen – Division 1 - VOTE YES to retain

Tom DePriest Jr. – Division 8 - VOTE YES to retain

B.C. “Buzz” Drumm, Jr. – Division 4 - VOTE YES to retain

Gary Gaertner, Jr. – Division 6 - VOTE YES to retain

Steven Goldman – Division 12 - VOTE YES to retain

Maura McShane – Division 2 – VOTE NO not to retain

John A. Ross – Division 15 – VOTE YES to retain

Mark D. Seigel – Division 3 - VOTE NO not to retain

Associate Circuit Judges – 21st Judicial District

Douglas R. Beach – Division 43 - VOTE YES to retain

John R. Essner – Division 37 - VOTE YES to retain

Sandra Farragut-Hemphill – Division 42 – VOTE NO not to retain

Dale W. Hood – Division 34 - VOTE YES to retain

Gloria Clark Reno – Division 36 – VOTE NO not to retain

Mary Bruntrager Schroeder – Division 32 – VOTE NO not to retain

Thea A. Sherry – Division 35 – VOTE NO not to retain

Circuit Judges - 22nd Judicial District

Julian Bush – Division 4 - VOTE YES to retain

David L. Dowd – Division 5 - VOTE YES to retain

Thomas C. Grady – Division 1 – VOTE NO not to retain

Stephen R. Ohmer – Division 8 – VOTE NO not to retain

John J. Riley – Division 7 - VOTE YES to retain

Timothy Wilson – Division 23 - VOTE YES to retain

Associate Circuit Judges – 22nd Judicial District

Thomas Charles Clark II – Division 14 - VOTE YES to retain

Calea Stovall-Reid – Division 27 - VOTE NO not to retain