The U.S. Department of Justice this year filed two reports – one focused on Ferguson, the other on the St. Louis County juvenile division.
The DOJ in its juvenile report raised issues including racial disparity in the disposition of cases, insufficient legal representation for juvenile offenders, and questions about our juvenile court structure. We are carefully studying the report to determine what changes are appropriate. Many talented judges, lawyers and community leaders are also exploring issues raised in the DOJ report about Ferguson.
When constitutional changes restructured the Missouri judicial system in 1979, freestanding municipal courts became divisions of the circuit court but were not fully brought into the state system. Instead, the law left the selection of judges to the municipalities. The law also left to the municipalities the choice of whether to send cases to the associate circuit division or whether to have a separate municipal division. So in reality, the municipal divisions in many ways have functioned autonomously from the circuit courts.
But they are, in fact, part of our Missouri circuit courts. Last year, more than 1.5 million municipal cases were disposed – twice as many cases as in all other circuit divisions.
The municipal divisions in the St. Louis area were thrust into the national spotlight after Michael Brown Jr.’s death in Ferguson last year, resulting in a DOJ report. It included 20 pages criticizing the Ferguson municipal division.
The report identified problems with the court’s fundamental procedures and operations – like imposing unwritten rules or rules made up on an ad hoc basis. The DOJ also criticized the Ferguson court’s practice of mandating appearances for more than 200 offenses – even minor ordinance violations. Much of the report alleged countless examples of abuses of police power. The municipal division failed to be a check on those abuses.
The DOJ report further identified race-based disparities in the treatment of defendants, noting these disparities “are not isolated or aberrational; rather, they exist in nearly every aspect of Ferguson … operations.”
Let me be clear: That conduct is not acceptable in our Missouri courts. We will do all that we can to ensure that it does not continue.
The Missouri Supreme Court is committed to restoring trust in all our municipal divisions, and we have taken steps to help regain the public’s confidence. We amended our rules to require that municipal judges consider an indigent defendant’s ability to pay any fine and costs imposed. It has been made clear to St. Louis County municipal judges that their divisions are required to be open to all the public. There is improved access to information and a uniform fine schedule that eliminates the exorbitant fines assessed in some cities.
Despite our progress, more remains to be done. The Supreme Court looks forward to receiving the report of its Municipal Division Work Group, which continues to gather and study information to identify the most important findings and recommendations for action.
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.
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.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Edited from remarks made to The Missouri Bar and the Judicial Conference of Missouri on October 8 in St. Louis.
