EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR O'LAUGHLIN.
0905S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment repealing sections 8, 19, 25(a),
25(c)(1), 25(d), and 25(f) of article V of the Constitution of Missouri, and adopting
eleven new sections in lieu thereof relating to judges.
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein:
That at the next general electi on to be held in the 1
state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday 2
in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by 3
the governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to 4
the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or 5
rejection, the following amendment to article V of the 6
Constitution of the state of Missouri:7
Section A. Sections 8, 19, 25(a), 25(c)(1), 25(d), and 1
25(f), article V, Constitution of Missouri, are repealed and 2
eleven new sections adopted in l ieu thereof, to be known as 3
sections 1(a), 8, 19, 25(a), 25(c)(1), 25(c)(3), 25(c)(4), 4
25(c)(5), 25(c)(6), 25(d), and 25(f), to read as follows:5
Section 1(a). 1. Judges of the supreme court, the 1
chief justice of the supreme court, and judges of th e court 2
of appeals shall be elected in nonpartisan elections. 3
2. The election of judges derives from the principle 4
that all political power is vested in and derived from the 5
people, and all government of right originates from the 6
people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted 7
solely for the good of the whole. Judges shall therefore be 8 SJR 3 2
accountable to the citizens of this state, this 9
constitution, and the Constitution of the United States, and 10
not beholden to any particular associat ion or alliance of 11
lawyers, judges, or interest groups. To accomplish this 12
purpose, as set forth in sections 25(a) -(g), judges of the 13
supreme court, the chief justice of the supreme court, and 14
judges of the court of appeals shall be elected in 15
nonpartisan elections, and shall no longer be selected by 16
the governor from nominations made by commissions of 17
lawyers, judges, and the governor's appointees. Voters 18
shall continue to have the ability to choose the method by 19
which circuit and associate circ uit judges are selected as 20
provided in section 25(b). Section 1(a) and sections 25(a) - 21
(g) of this constitution shall be known as the "Missouri 22
Nonpartisan Court Plan". 23
Section 8. The [judges of the supreme court shall 1
elect from their number a] chief justice [to] of the supreme 2
court shall preside over the court en banc, and the judges 3
of the court of appeals in each district shall elect from 4
their number a chief judge of the district. The terms of 5
the [chief justice and] chief judges shall be fixed by the 6
courts over which they preside. The chief justice of the 7
supreme court shall be the chief administrative officer of 8
the judicial system and, subject to the supervisory 9
authority of the supreme court, shall supervise the 10
administration of the courts of this state. 11
Section 19. Judges of the supreme court [and], the 1
chief justice of the supreme court, judges of the court of 2
appeals [shall be selected for terms of twelve years ], and 3
judges of the circui t courts shall be selected for terms of 4
six years, and associate circuit judges for terms of four 5
years. No supreme court judge, supreme court chief justice, 6 SJR 3 3
or court of appeals judge shall be elected to a particular 7
judicial seat for more than two co nsecutive terms. 8
Section 25(a). Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the 1
office of [judge of any of the following courts of this 2
state, to wit: The supreme court, the court of appeals, or 3
in the office of] circuit or associate circuit j udge within 4
the city of St. Louis and Jackson county, the governor shall 5
fill such vacancy by appointing one of three persons 6
possessing the qualifications for such office, who shall be 7
nominated and whose names shall be submitted to the governor 8
by a nonpartisan judicial commission established and 9
organized as hereinafter provided. If the governor fails to 10
appoint any of the nominees within sixty days after the list 11
of nominees is submitted, the nonpartisan judicial 12
commission making the nominati on shall appoint one of the 13
nominees to fill the vacancy. Whenever a vacancy shall 14
occur in the office of judge of the supreme court, chief 15
justice of the supreme court, or judge of the court of 16
appeals, it shall be promptly filled pursuant to section 4 17
of article IV of this constitution and such appointee shall 18
hold office for the remainder of the vacating judge's term. 19
Section 25(c)(1). Each judge appointed to the office 1
of circuit or associate circuit judge pursuant to the 2
provisions of sections 25(a) -(g) shall hold office for a 3
term ending December thirty -first following the next general 4
election after the expiration of twelve months in the 5
office. Any circuit or associate circuit judge holding 6
office, or elected thereto , at the time of the election by 7
which the provisions of sections 25(a) -(g) become applicable 8
to his office, shall, unless removed for cause, remain in 9
office for the term to which he would have been entitled had 10
the provisions of sections 25(a) -(g) not become applicable 11 SJR 3 4
to his office. Not less than sixty days prior to the 12
holding of the general election next preceding the 13
expiration of his term of office, any circuit or associate 14
circuit judge whose office is subject to the provisions of 15
sections 25(a)-(g) may file in the office of the secretary 16
of state a declaration of candidacy for election to succeed 17
himself. If a declaration is not so filed [by any judge], 18
the vacancy resulting from the expiration of his term of 19
office shall be filled by appointment as herein provided. 20
If such declaration is filed, his name shall be submitted at 21
said next general election to the voters eligible to vote 22
[within the state if his office is that of judge of the 23
supreme court, or within the geographic jur isdiction limit 24
of the district where he serves if his office is that of a 25
judge of the court of appeals, or ] within the circuit if his 26
office is that of circuit judge, or within the county if his 27
office is that of associate circuit judge on a separate 28
judicial ballot, without party designation, reading: 29
30 "Shall Judge __________________
31
32
(Here the name of the judge shall be
inserted)
33
34 of the __________________
35
36
(Here the title of the court shall be
inserted)
37
38 be retained in office? Yes □ No □
39 (Mark an "X" in the box you prefer.)" SJR 3 5
If a majority of those voting on the question vote against 40
retaining him in office, upon the expiration of his term of 41
office, a vacancy shall exist which shall be filled by 42
appointment as provided in section 25(a); otherwise, said 43
judge shall, unless removed for cause, remain in office for 44
the number of years after December thi rty-first following 45
such election as is provided for the full term of such 46
office, and at the expiration of each such term shall be 47
eligible for retention in office by election in the manner 48
here prescribed. 49
Section 25(c)(3). Judges of the supreme court and of 1
the court of appeals shall be elected at the general 2
election by the voters eligible to vote within the appellate 3
district of the seat being elected as set forth in sections 4
25(c)(4) and 25(c)(5). Except as set forth in section 5
25(a), each judge of the supreme court, chief justice of the 6
supreme court, and judge of the court of appeals shall hold 7
office for a term expiring December thirty -first in the 8
sixth year after his or her election. The provisions of 9
sections 25(c)(1) and 25(c)(2) shall not apply to supreme 10
court judges, the supreme court chief justice, or court of 11
appeals judges. 12
Section 25(c)(4). Judges of the supreme court and the 1
chief justice of the supreme court shall be elected as 2
follows: If the general assembly has provided by law for 3
three appellate districts, the chief justice of the supreme 4
court shall be elected at large and two judges of the 5
supreme court shall be elected from each court of appeals 6
district by the voter s eligible to vote within that 7
district; if the general assembly has provided by law for 8
more than three appellate districts or the geographical 9 SJR 3 6
boundaries of the districts change such that the following 10
districts cannot be made, then the chief justice of the 11
supreme court shall be elected at large and elections for 12
judges of the supreme court shall be established by law, or 13
if no law timely establishes procedures for such elections, 14
then elections for the chief justice and judges of the 15
supreme court shall be at large. Two judges of the supreme 16
court shall be elected from the court of appeals district 17
which includes the city of St. Louis, with one judge elected 18
in 2028 and every sixth successive year, and with one judge 19
elected in 2030 and eve ry sixth successive year. Two judges 20
of the supreme court shall be elected from the court of 21
appeals district which includes the city of Springfield, 22
with one judge elected in 2028 and every sixth successive 23
year, and with one judge elected in 2032 an d every sixth 24
successive year. Two judges of the supreme court shall be 25
elected from the court of appeals district which includes 26
the city of Kansas City, with one judge elected in 2030 and 27
every sixth successive year, and with one judge elected in 28
2032 and every sixth successive year. The chief justice 29
shall be elected at large in 2032 and every sixth successive 30
year. A supreme court judge shall be a resident of the 31
appellate district from which he or she is elected no later 32
than the day of his or her election. 33
Section 25(c)(5). 1. Those supreme court judges 1
currently holding office as of 5:00 p.m. on December 3, 2
2026, shall not be required to reside in any particular 3
appellate district but on that date shall be assigned a seat 4
designation for purposes of implementing elections and 5
filling vacancies. The seat designations shall be assigned 6
in the following order: Chief justice, judge from the court 7
of appeals district including the city of Kansas City first 8 SJR 3 7
elected in 2032, judge from the court of appeals district 9
including the city of Springfield first elected in 2032, 10
judge from the court of appeals district including the city 11
of St. Louis first elected in 2030, judge from the court of 12
appeals district including the city of Kansas City first 13
elected in 2030, judge from the court of appeals district 14
including the city of Springfield first elected in 2028, and 15
judge from the court of appeals district including the city 16
of St. Louis first elected in 2028. Seats will be assigned 17
to judges who have been retained by voters, starting with 18
the judge most recently retained. For judges retained at 19
the same time, the judge having served the least amount of 20
time on the supreme court shall be assigned first. After 21
all judges who have been retained have been assigned seats, 22
judges who have been appointed shall be assigned, starting 23
with judges most recently appointed. If all judges who have 24
been retained or appointed have been assigned seats, and it 25
appears that one or more of the offices of judge of the 26
supreme court was vacated on or before December 3, 2026, but 27
remained unfilled by the end of that date, these vacancies 28
will be immediately assigned a seat, using the order set 29
forth in this section until all seats are filled, and in 30
assigning seat designations to vacancies, vacancies created 31
by a judge whose last name is first in alphabetical order 32
will have precedence. A seat held by any judge who lost a 33
retention election in the 2026 general election s hall be 34
treated as vacant solely for purposes of assigning a seat 35
under this provision, even though the judge shall hold 36
office until December 31, 2026, and the seat shall be 37
treated as vacant for purposes of section 25(a) on January 38
1, 2027, and thereafter filled under the provisions of 39
section 25(a). 40 SJR 3 8
2. Judges of the court of appeals who were last 41
retained in the 2016 or 2018 general elections, or the 42
successors to vacancies left by such judges, shall be 43
elected in the 2028 general election , court of appeals 44
judges who were last retained in the 2020 or 2022 general 45
elections, or the successors to vacancies left by such 46
judges, shall be elected in the 2030 general election, and 47
court of appeals judges who were last retained in the 2024 48
or 2026 general elections, or the successors to vacancies 49
left by such judges, shall be elected in the 2032 general 50
election. The candidate elected in each such election shall 51
serve for the term prescribed by section 19, and every 52
succeeding six years, a new election shall be held for that 53
judicial office. Judges of the court of appeals first 54
eligible for retention in the 2028 general election under 55
the immediately prior version of section 25(c)(1), which was 56
effective until the end of thirty days after the election 57
adopting this section, shall be elected in the 2028 general 58
election. Any seat held by a court of appeals judge who 59
loses a retention election in the 2026 general election 60
shall be treated as vacant on January 1, 2027, and shall 61
thereafter be filled under the provisions of section 25(a). 62
Any law providing for additional court of appeals seats 63
shall specify the first general election at which the seat 64
shall be filled. 65
3. A vacancy in the office of judge of the supreme 66
court, chief justice of the supreme court, or judge of the 67
court of appeals that opened before the end of thirty days 68
after the election adopting this section but was not yet 69
filled as of that time and date shall be filled by the 70
governor under the provisi ons of section 25(a). 71 SJR 3 9
4. The provisions of this section shall be severable 72
from the remainder of the provisions of section 25(a) -(g). 73
Section 25(c)(6). 1. Elections for the offices of 1
judge of the supreme court, the office of t he chief justice 2
of supreme court, and the offices of judge of the court of 3
appeals shall be nonpartisan elections. No political party 4
shall nominate any candidate for offices of judge of the 5
supreme court, office of chief justice of the supreme court , 6
or offices of judge of the court of appeals, and no primary 7
or general election ballot shall include a party designation 8
for offices of judge of the supreme court, office of chief 9
justice of the supreme court, and offices of judge of the 10
court of appeals. The general assembly shall make no law 11
prohibiting a candidate from declaring himself or herself a 12
supporter of a political party, or prohibiting a political 13
party from declaring its support for a candidate. 14
2. All declarations for candida cy for the offices of 15
judge of the supreme court, the office of chief justice of 16
the supreme court, or the offices of judge of the court of 17
appeals shall be filed in the office of the secretary of 18
state no later than one hundred twenty days before the 19
primary election. A candidate, whether or not an incumbent, 20
shall file such declaration using a form provided by the 21
secretary of state. All declarations shall be accompanied 22
by either a nominating petition or a nomination form. A 23
nominating petition shall have been signed no earlier than 24
one hundred eighty days before the primary election by one 25
hundred voters eligible to vote in the applicable appellate 26
district, or in the case of the chief justice, in the 27
state. A nomination form shall be si gned by all members of 28
the Appellate Judicial Commission no earlier than one 29
hundred eighty days before the primary. The Appellate 30 SJR 3 10
Judicial Commission may issue nomination forms for up to 31
three individuals per race, but it shall not issue a 32
nomination form for any person who files a declaration 33
accompanied by a nominating petition. 34
3. The two candidates receiving the highest number of 35
votes in the primary election shall stand in the general 36
election. The candidate achieving the greatest numb er of 37
votes in the general election shall be elected to the 38
judicial office. 39
4. The primary and general elections for the offices 40
of judge of the supreme court, the office of chief justice 41
of the supreme court, and the offices of judge of the cou rt 42
of appeals shall be held in the same manner as gubernatorial 43
elections to the greatest extent possible for nonpartisan 44
elections, or as otherwise provided by law. Contests to the 45
results of an election under this section, whether on the 46
basis of qualification, irregularity, or other cause, or for 47
recount other than any automatic recount as provided by law 48
shall be heard and determined in the same manner as 49
gubernatorial elections to the greatest extent possible for 50
nonpartisan elections, or as otherwise provided by law. 51
5. The provisions of this section shall be severable 52
from the remainder of the provisions of section 25(a) -(g). 53
Section 25(d). Nonpartisan judicial commissions whose 1
duty it shall be to nominate [and submit to the governor ] 2
names of persons for appointment as provided by sections 3
25(a)-(g) are hereby established and shall be organized on 4
the following basis: For vacancies in the office of judge of 5
the supreme court, chief justice of the supreme cour t, or 6
judge of the court of appeals, there shall be one such 7
commission, to be known as "The Appellate Judicial 8
Commission"; for vacancies in the office of circuit judge or 9 SJR 3 11
associate circuit judge of any circuit court subject to the 10
provisions of sections 25(a)-(g) there shall be one such 11
commission, to be known as "The _________ Circuit Judicial 12
Commission", for each judicial circuit which shall be 13
subject to the provisions of sections 25(a) -(g); the 14
appellate judicial commission shall consist of a judge of 15
the supreme court selected by the members of the supreme 16
court, and the remaining members shall be chosen in the 17
following manner: The members of the bar of this state 18
residing in each court of appeals district shall elect one 19
of their number to serve as a member of said commission, and 20
the governor shall appoint one citizen, not a member of the 21
bar, from among the residents of each court of appeals 22
district, to serve as a member of said commission, and the 23
members of the commission shal l select one of their number 24
to serve as chairman. Each circuit judicial commission 25
shall consist of five members, one of whom shall be the 26
chief judge of the district of the court of appeals within 27
which the judicial circuit of such commission, or th e major 28
portion of the population of said circuit is situated and 29
the remaining four members shall be chosen in the following 30
manner: The members of the bar of this state residing in the 31
judicial circuit of such commission shall elect two of their 32
number to serve as members of said commission, and the 33
governor shall appoint two citizens, not members of the bar, 34
from among the residents of said judicial circuit to serve 35
as members of said commission, the members of the commission 36
shall select one of their number to serve as chairman; and 37
the terms of office of the members of such commission shall 38
be fixed by law, but no law shall increase or diminish the 39
term of any member then in office. No member of any such 40
commission other than a judge shall hold any public office, 41 SJR 3 12
and no member shall hold any official position in a 42
political party. Every such commission may act only by the 43
concurrence of a majority of its members. The members of 44
such commission shall receive no salary or other 45
compensation for their services but they shall receive their 46
necessary traveling and other expenses incurred while 47
actually engaged in the discharge of their official duties. 48
All such commissions shall be administered, and all 49
elections provided for under th is section shall be held and 50
regulated, under such rules as the supreme court shall 51
promulgate. 52
Section 25(f). No judge of any court in this state, 1
appointed to or retained in office in the manner prescribed 2
in sections 25(a)-(g), shall directly or indirectly make any 3
contribution to or hold any office in a political party or 4
organization, or take part in any political campaign , except 5
as provided in sections 25(a) –(g). A judge or judicial 6
candidate may announce his or her views on disputed legal or 7
political issues provided that the judge or judicial 8
candidate does not make pledges or promises to render 9
specific rulings or decisions on pending litigation. A 10
judicial candidate shall be allowed to solicit, receive, and 11
make campaign contributions, and receive and make campaign 12
expenditures for his or her campaign, subject only to laws 13
that enact limits no more restrictive than those applicable, 14
if any, to gubernatorial elections. Nothing in this section 15
shall preclude the application of laws or rules of the 16
supreme court governing judicial participation in specific 17
cases based on a judge's political activity with respect to 18
the subject matter or parties. The provisions of this 19
section shall be severable from the rema inder of the 20
provisions of section 25(a) -(g), except that nothing shall 21 SJR 3 13
prohibit a candidate for the supreme court or for the court 22
of appeals from taking part in his or her own political 23
campaign. 24