Lawyers in the Legislature, George Shannon and The Missouri Plan

 

William M. Corrigan, Jr.
Armstrong Teasdale LLP
St. Louis

What in the world do The Missouri Bar's initiative to increase the number of lawyers in the legislature, George Shannon and Missouri's Non-Partisan Court Plan have in common?

George Shannon

First, who was George Shannon? He is best known as the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. George Shannon was 18 years old when he volunteered to serve in the Corps of Discovery in the fall of 1803. What many people do not know is that he would later become a lawyer in Missouri and get elected to the Missouri Senate.

Not long after the Lewis and Clark Expedition began, in September 1804, Shannon became separated from the expedition. He was lost for 16 days, and because of his remarkable display of determination, he survived. Indeed, William Clark wrote in his journal that Shannon "nearly Starved to Death, he had been 12 [of the 16] days without anything to eate but Grapes & one Rabit, which he Killed by shooting a piece of hard Stick in place of a ball . . . ." He would later complete the expedition and return safely to St. Louis in 1806.

However, in 1807, while Shannon was on another expedition, his party was attacked by the Arikara Indians, and Shannon was shot in the leg. He lost his leg and almost lost his life.

Thereafter, Shannon returned to Kentucky and Pennsylvania, where he was educated in the law and became a lawyer. He was elected to two terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives. After Missouri was admitted to statehood in 1821, he returned to Missouri, where he practiced law. He was ultimately elected to the Missouri Senate. In 1836, after being elected to the Missouri Senate, he died suddenly in court in Palmyra, where he is buried. Shannon County is named in his honor.

The Missouri Plan

In 1939, seven concerned members of the Missouri House of Representatives - all lawyers - introduced a proposed constitutional amendment that would have created a system of non-partisan selection and retention for state judges. However, the House committee to which this proposal was assigned voted unfavorably, and the measure was not considered further.

In 1940, alarmed by the real and potential abuses inherent under the existing system, bar organizations and citizens' groups across Missouri began working together to develop a grass-roots campaign for an initiative petition to amend the state constitution. Led by the Missouri Institute for the Administration of Justice - a group composed of one-third lawyers and two-thirds other citizens - the effort gained support from civic, labor, farm and industrial organizations throughout the state. As a result of that initiative petition, a proposal to create non-partisan selection and retention methods in all state appellate courts, Jackson County and the City of St. Louis was placed on the November 5, 1940 general election ballot. When the vote totals were counted, the citizens of Missouri had approved the amendment by a margin of more than 80,000 votes.

However, in 1943, during the Missouri constitutional convention, a major effort was made to exclude the non-partisan court plan from the new constitution. Nearly half - 39 - of the 83 delegates to the convention were lawyers. The effort to exclude the plan failed, and it was eventually incorporated into the new state constitution.

Judges in St. Louis County came under the non-partisan plan in 1970, followed three years later by the judges of Clay County and Platte County.

The Kansas City Star, in an editorial many years ago, focused on the plan's legacy when it wrote:

A judge doesn't have to borrow and spend money to conduct a campaign. He is not forced to make political promises to men who control votes. He does not have to answer to a political boss, nor does he need to accept campaign contributions from lawyers who will practice in his court. It is by far the best plan yet devised to keep the bench out of partisan campaigns.

Indeed, the "Missouri Plan" has since been adopted, in some form, in 34 other states.

Conclusion

Since the early days of Missouri's statehood, lawyers such as George Shannon have had a proud history of public service in the Missouri legislature. Moreover, throughout the long history of Missouri's pioneering non-partisan court plan, it is clear that lawyers, as members of the General Assembly or as delegates to Missouri's constitutional convention, played a primary role in the development of the plan.

Today, however, lawyers make up only 13% of the Missouri legislature. Moreover, the number of lawyers in the Missouri Senate is at an all-time low. While The Missouri Bar is genuinely mindful and respectful of the value of a diverse legislature, a legislature with so few lawyers is not in the best interest of the people.

Public service has always been, and will continue to remain, one of the greatest traditions of our profession. This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, including the "undaunted courage" of an 18-year-old teenager who not only served his country and risked his life on arguably the greatest expedition this country has ever known, but returned to Missouri to serve in the legislature. As we mark this anniversary, it is also timely to discuss the importance and need for lawyers to continue to serve in the legislature.

Editor's Note - the bibliography and source materials for this article are not included due to space limitations.