Mr. Smith Goes to Missouri
You may remember Adam Smith as one of the greatest economists of the 18th century. In present-day Missouri, however, Smith's name is being used by a new group that seeks to advance the causes of government accountability, educational reform, and tax and spending reform in the state. And the Adam Smith Foundation's main focus in 2007? Countering judicial activism.
Specifically, this means revising the aptly-named Missouri Plan. The Missouri Plan is a system for elevating judges to the State Supreme Court, by which a commission of seven-the chief justice, three lawyers, and three citizens-submit three names from which the governor may choose one to fill a vacancy.
"A vast majority of people do not know lawyers are picking the judges," said James Harris, founder of the Adam Smith Foundation. Lawyers are voted into the commission by other lawyers who are likely to push their own agendas rather than judge the law impartially, Harris explains.
"There is no transparency, no rules of conduct," Harris said.
Though there is a variety of proposed legislation in the state legislature to revamp the Missouri Plan, the Adam Smith Foundation is doing a great deal of work on its own.
It's currently working to place two initiatives on the ballot in November 2008. One places term limits on statewide officeholders who can today stay in office as long as they like: Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Auditor. The other initiative would prohibit judges from ordering tax or spending increases in their rulings.
The Foundation is also working to get citizens involved. It recently launched a campaign that includes billboard ads, e-mail blasts, and phone calls, all of which urge citizens to call specific members of the judicial commission and ask them to reject judicial activism.
The organization has been criticized by newspapers like the St. Louis Post Dispatch for trying to "re-inject politics into the state judicial system." But, as Harris explains, "We are just trying to inject transparency."
Whether their efforts are effective will be known by July 31, when the commission is due to submit three names to the governor for nomination to the high court.
From the perspective of the Adam Smith Foundation, the best way to fight the current system is to inform and educate people about what is actually happening in their state.
Visit the Adam Smith Foundation's website at adamsmithfoundation.org.
