The Supreme Court of Missouri has established a Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness, Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge announced Thursday, October 8 during her address to lawyers and judges gathered in St. Louis for the joint annual meeting of The Missouri Bar and the Judicial Conference of Missouri.
“We all need to do everything we can to ensure that every individual in every case in our system of justice is treated with respect and has his or her case adjudicated fairly and impartially according to the law. Until that is true in 100 percent of our courts, we cannot rest. Even a perception of justice denied anywhere should concern us all, no matter who or where we are,” Breckenridge said in her address.
“To that end, I am pleased to announce the Supreme Court has established a Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness. Judge George Draper and Missouri Bar President Reuben Shelton have been instrumental and inspirational in forming the commission and will serve as liaisons. The commission is made up of attorneys and judges representing diverse experiences and viewpoints from across the state.”
The commission will focus its study on six areas – the judicial system generally, the civil justice system, the criminal justice system, the juvenile justice system, the municipal justice system and the practice of law – to identify solutions and make recommendations for improvement, she said.
Together, the commission members will engage with the public in examining and reviewing current practices and recommending measures “to help assure fairness, impartiality, equal access and full participation for racial and ethnic minorities in the judicial process and in the practice of law,” she said.
Breckenridge issued an order on October 6 establishing the commission along these lines.
Commission co-chairs are William R. Bay, a partner at Thompson Coburn; Judge Lisa White Hardwick of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District; and Michael A. Middleton, deputy chancellor emeritus of the University of Missouri – Columbia.
The steering committee, composed of the co-chairs of each of the commission’s six subcommittees, includes Judge Louis Angles, Patrick Chavez, Dana Tippin Cutler, Judge Kenneth Garrett, Judge Sandra Hemphill, Judge Jalilah Otto, Judge Gary Oxenhandler, Judge Booker T. Shaw, Karen Tokarz, Lynn Ann Vogel, Gary Waint and Antwaun Smith.
The commission – which will have “at least 40 members” – also includes as members five other judges: Judge Charles Curless, Judge Kristine Kerr, Judge Marco Roldan, Judge Nancy Rahmeyer and Judge Todd Thornhill.
The commission also includes as members a number of public officials – including St. Louis City Counselor Winston Calvert, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker and Kansas City Councilwoman Jolie Justus – as well as one law enforcement official, Lt. Col. Sandy Karsten of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The order specifies them to investigate a number of key areas, including:
• The existence and impact of any racial and ethnic bias and/or disparities within the judicial system and the practice of law;
• Changes to court rules, regulations, laws and/or practices to improve meaningful access to or participation in the judicial system and the practice of law by racial and ethnic minorities;
• Measures to ensure that all persons within the judicial system and practice of law refrain from manifesting bias or prejudice, by words or conduct, based on race or ethnicity;
• The availability of effective legal representation for racial and ethnic minorities within the judicial system;
• Measures to enhance racial and ethnic diversity in the selection, retention and promotion of judicial officers, court staff and professionals in the legal community, and court.
• In addition to its own work, the commission was ordered to “collaborate and participate in the Minority Community Engagement project with the National Center for State Courts and National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.
Breckenridge told the Missouri Bar on October 8, “Today – whether you are from St. Louis County or Nevada, Missouri, whether you practice in the juvenile division or are working to have your municipal case disposed, whether you are a member of one of Missouri’s Asian or Hispanic bar associations or you represent ethnically diverse clients in any part of the state – no matter who you are, where you live or what kind of law you practice, we all must stand together in ensuring the culture of our profession is one that earns public trust and confidence.”
The commission was ordered to file its initial report by June 1, 2016 and annual reports by January 1 thereafter.
