Breckenridge appointed to Missouri Supreme Court

Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Steve Moyer/Daily Mail Judge Patricia Breckenridge, left, was appointed to fill the vacant seat of Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White, who resigned to resume private practice. Blunt announced the appointment at the Vernon County Courthouse in Nevada on Friday.

Governor Matt Blunt visited Nevada Friday and announced the appointment of appeals court Judge Patricia Breckenridge, 53, to fill the vacant seat of Supreme Court Justice Ronnie White, who resigned to resume private practice.

Blunt praised Breckenridge and said she had given him assurances that she shares his understanding of the proper role of judges in American society.

"I am sure that Judge Breckenridge understands the proper role of the judiciary, which is to interpret the laws and not make decisions based on personal preferences," Blunt said. " After an extensive review process and much consideration, I believe Judge Breckenridge to be the best candidate of the three candidates submitted to me by the Appellate Judicial Commission."

Under Missouri's judicial selection process, a special panel privately screens applicants for Supreme Court vacancies before submitting three candidates to the governor. Blunt had until Sept. 23 to appoint one of those three or reject the entire slate, in which case the appointment would have been made by the selection panel.

Until Friday, Blunt had left open the possibility of rejecting all the nominees, a move advocated by opponents of Missouri's judicial selection method who claim the process is too secretive and all three candidates were too liberal.

Blunt also has been critical of the selection process and of "activist judges," a label he applies to jurists whom he contends make laws with their rulings.

Blunt said that the decision was one he didn't make hastily but put a lot of thought and effort into, in order to make the best selection for the people.

"As governor, I've faced many important responsibilities but very few are as important as a nomination to the Missouri Supreme Court," Blunt said. "Judges, as you know, unlike elected representatives often have the last say on public policy in our state and country. Ours is a constitutional republic and we're ruled by laws, not by men."

Blunt emphasized the position was one of great responsibility that needed fair-minded individuals to fill it and a comprehensive evaluation of the proposed candidates. Blunt went to great lengths to explain the process to ward off criticisms of those who say the process is too secretive.

"The position of supreme court judge is far too important to be filled on the basis of whim and a handful of questions," Blunt said. "My administration asked thorough questions and did so in the light of day. I think the process works best when people have a sense of what is going on. Secrecy has no place in state government so I made our interview process as open as possible."

"We started by asking the three candidates 111 questions on their past experience. Some of the questions could be answered with one answer and some of them took pages of documentation. We made the questions available to Missourians on the Internet so Missourians could evaluate the candidates as well. Then my staff held telephone conversations with all three candidates to clarify answers to some of the initial questions and to prepare everyone involved for the final interview and that interview involved myself and I had an opportunity to spend two hours with each of the three Missourians that have been placed before me for consideration. Throughout that process I had an opportunity to ask many questions about the judicial philosophies of the candidates and I even made some of those questions available to the public."

According to Associated Press reports, some conservative groups claim Breckenridge's court rulings reveal she is likely to lean to the liberal side. Breckenridge agreed with Stith, a Democratic appointee, in all 51 cases Stith authored when they served together on the court of appeals, claimed a joint memo from three Washington, D.C.-based groups.

Blunt's spokesman, Rich Chrismer, noted that in 15 cases heard by all the appellate court judges together, seven rulings were unanimous and Breckenridge voted differently than Stith on five of the remaining eight cases.

Breckenridge, a life-long Nevada resident, began her career in the law offices of Russell, Brown and Breckenridge, served as an associate circuit court judge for three terms before being appointed to the appeals court by then Missouri Governor John Ashcroft in 1990.

In October, a portrait of Breckenridge was hung in the Associate Courtroom of the Vernon County Courthouse, during a reception and ceremony. Her likeness joined that of Vernon County's prior associate circuit judges, formerly know as probate judges or magistrates, carrying on a time-honored tradition.

Breckenridge became judge at the age of 28, in Vernon County, and holds many fond memories of those with whom she worked and of many moments from her unique perspective on the bench.

She was appointed by then Gov. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, in January 1982, as associate circuit judge of Vernon County to fill an unexpired term. She was elected to the office in 1982, and re-elected to two more terms. She has served as president of the Missouri Association of Associate and Probate Judges, a member of the Missouri Task Force on Gender and Justice and was co-chair of the Gender Fairness Implementation Committee. She was appointed to her appellate judicial seat in 1990 by then Gov. John Ashcroft and retained by voters since. She became a member of the American Bar Association Foundation and a Council of State Governments Toll Fellow. She has received the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law's Citation of Merit and The Missouri Bar President's Award.

Breckenridge handled more than 30,000 civil, criminal, family law and probate cases while a trial judge. She said in her application for the Supreme Court position that she had authored about 900 opinions while an appeals court judge. From 1998 to 2000, Breckenridge served as the chief judge of the Western District appeals court.

She also serves as a mentor to a boy and girl through an inner-city day care in Kansas City, meeting with them once or twice a week to help with homework, read books or play.

Besides Breckenridge, the other finalists were Western District appellate Judge Ronald Holliger and Eastern District appellate Judge Nanette Baker.

Her appointment means the seven-member Missouri Supreme Court will have three female judges for the first time. But it will lose some racial diversity. White had been the only black judge to serve on the state's highest court, and Baker had been the only black candidate to replace him.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: