Some
predictions regarding this incredibly impressive panel of nominees
that the Appellate Judicial Commission submitted to Gov.
Jay Nixon to fill the vacancy on the Missouri
Supreme Court left by the retirement of Judge Michael A.
Wolff.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Judge Michael W. Manners – a circuit judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit (Jackson County) – will make Missouri justice proud and create national headlines with his handling of the Reginald Clemons case; he was appointed special master to review the Clemons case when the state Supreme Court last supended Clemons’ death sentence. He also will one day be a judge on the Missouri Supreme Court.
But Manners will not be the next
judge on the Missouri Supreme Court.
Joe D. Jacobson – a
shareholder in the St. Louis law firm of Green Jacobson PC who has
never been a judge – will continue to serve the New Northside
Missionary Baptist Church as its expert pro bono transactional
lawyer, among other volunteer legal commitments to the black
community. He also will one day become the second Jewish person to
serve as a judge on the Missouri Supreme Court.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>But Jacobson will not be the next judge on the Missouri Supreme Court.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The next judge on the Missouri Supreme Court will be Judge George W. Draper III, who is currently a highly respected judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. Nixon will select Draper to become the second African American to serve on the state’s highest court.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Judge Ronnie White is the only African American to serve on the court thus far. For the record, Judge Richard B. Teitelman, chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court and chair of the commission that selected this sparkling panel of nominess, is the only Jewish person to serve on the high court. He also is the only legally blind person to have done so and certainly one of the best-liked, most able and kindest.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>When Judge Draper joins him on the bench, he will give Judge Teitelman a run for his money as best-liked Supreme. Working in literally the most contentious field among all the professions (except, perhaps, politics, a field he now also has entered), Draper manages to be almost universally well-liked and respected. The commission handed Nixon an easy choice to do the right thing in ensuring African-American representation on the state’s highest court, presiding over a legal system that disproportionantly impacts black people in certain areas.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Those who like to mull over the odds could make a case that the nominees were selected in a way that makes it easy for Nixon to choose the black candidate going into an election year when a sitting Democrat governor will need a large and loyal black turnout at the polls.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Why? Manners is at least Draper’s equal as a jurist; in fact, he received seven votes from the commission, compared to Draper’s five votes and Jacobson’s four. But Manners is a past president of the Missouri Trial Lawyers Association, a significant source of campaign dollars for Democrats and a pet target of Missouri Republicans. Nixon would take a political hit from the right for picking Manners.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Jacobson is eminently qualified for the bench and also has few if any detractors in the profession. But unlike Draper, he has never worked as a judge, and he received slightly less confidence from the commission than Draper did. Both men live in the St. Louis area, so geographic loyalties are divided between them. Thinking in terms of race, as in-touch politicians have no choice but to do, Draper is the obvious choice over Jacobson – and Nixon would take a political hit from the black community for passing over Draper.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>And consider this as well. When choosing nominees, the commission passed over another African-American applicant – Lisa White Hardwick, a highly esteemed judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals,
Western District – who is at least as
qualified as the three nominees who made the final cut. A seasoned
court watcher told the EYE it’s unlikely the commission would come
back with two black nominees out of three, even if two of the three
best candidates were black. Had Hardwick made the panel, Nixon
choosing her for the bench would have meant tilting the court to a
female majority (Wolff’s resignation left the bench with three men
and three women).
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Though the EYE is ready for a female majority on the Missouri Supreme Court, not everyone in the male-dominated legal profession whose support Nixon needs is ready for that. So choosing Hardwick for the bench would have been more controversial in some circles than choosing Draper.
Draper is an easy choice for Nixon to make,
the choice he should make and the choice he will
make.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Circuit, not deal, breakers
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>One of the major dilemmas facing legislators who favor the job creating aspects of Aerotropolis legislation is a section in the bill that eliminates the circuit breaker tax credit for renters. While the elimination of the circuit breaker credit for renters might seem reasonable given that the circuit breaker credit was initially established as a way to ease the burden of increases in property taxes for senior citizens on fixed income, like so many programs it has morphed over the years to provide relief for renters whose rent might be affected by increases in property taxes. An analysis of data provided by the Missouri Department of Revenue reveals that more than 100,000 Missouri citizens who are renters received $55,160,331 dollars in circuit breaker tax credits in 2010. In comparison, more than 106,000 property owners received circuit breaker credits.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>A closer look at the impact of the circuit breaker tax credit program for renters in the legislative districts in North St. Louis puts the impact on low-income people into perspective. The number of renters participating in the program in the 57th District is 1,840, while the number of home owners is 742. In the 58th District renters using the credit total 2,259, compared to 168 homeowners receiving circuit tax credit relief.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>These drastic differences in renters vs homeowners follow the same pattern in the three other North St. Louis districts. In the 60th District, there are 2,696 renters and 1,046 owners; the 61st District has 1,015 renters vs 273 owners; and the 63rd District has 1,354 renters vs 162 owners. In all, more than 14,000 city renters took advantage of the circuit breaker tax credit in 2010.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The irony of this controversy is that the idea of eliminating the tax credit came from the special committee appointed by Governor Jay Nixon to study the impact of tax credits in the state of Missouri. It is hard for the EYE to fathom that state legislators would support the elimination of a credit that helps the poorest of its constituents.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The furor behind the elimination of this tax credit has prompted one Republican senator to introduce a bill that would eliminate the credit through a six-year phase out. That’s better for these struggling citizens than nothing. However, the representatives elected from North St. Louis have united on this issue and are pulling support among Democrats. Those who don’t want the circuit breaker tax credit to become a deal breaker – which must not happen – need to find a way to preserve this modest tax relief for needy citizens.
