Marshall Democrat-News: Local News: Mo. Supreme Court Justice visits Slater for luncheon (06/10/09)

Missouri Supreme Court Justice Mary R. Russell, center, stands flanked by Associate Court Judge James Tuthill "Tut" Bellamy, left, of Marshall, and Circuit Court Judge Dennis A. Rolf, right, of Marshall, an old friend of Russell's.
(Sydney Stonner/Democrat-News)

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Slater Chamber of Commerce had a distinguished guest Tuesday, June 9. Missouri Supreme Court Justice Mary R. Russell, an old friend of Circuit Court Judge Dennis A. Rolf, was the featured speaker at the weekly luncheon.

Slater Mayor Stephen Allegri introduced Russell to the crowd, which included many county officials.

"We're really, really privileged to have such a person as Judge Russell," here in Slater, he said, adding, "You could arrest somebody, judge them and appeal them, all right here in this room."

In her presentation to the Chamber, Russell spoke about her duties as a justice and how she became a member of Missouri's Supreme Court, which hears appeals of cases decided in Missouri's lower courts.

"There aren't many appeals that come out of Saline County, because your judges do such a wonderful job," she said.

The court hears cases that are of "statewide interest" or "general importance," Russell said. On average, the court receives about 50 applications for appeals per month, though only about 10 percent of those cases are heard.

There are three types of cases the court must hear: those involving capital punishment, challenges to state statutes or city ordinances and those dealing with state tax and revenue laws.

Russell told the crowd that she grew up on a dairy farm near Hannibal, where she later practiced law. In 1995, Russell was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, and she has been a member of the Supreme Court since 2004.

She also spoke about Missouri's method of choosing judges for the Supreme Court, which was established in 1940, she said. Judges are not elected or directly appointed, but rather must apply for a position on the court. Applicants are reviewed by a panel of citizens, lawyers and the Supreme Court's Chief Justice, and then appointed by the governor.

Once appointed, a justice serves a one-year probationary period. Then, the judge's name is put on the state ballot for approval of a 12-year term. Judges can remain on the court, if voter-approved, until they reach 70 years of age.

"Although our plan's not perfect, we still think it's the best plan," Russell said.

As the meeting ended, Rep. Joe Aull thanked Russell for her work for the people of Missouri.

"We're awfully lucky to have Judge Russell," he said. "She does a great job of staying close to the people."

Missouri's other Supreme Court Justices are Patricia Breckenridge, Zel M. Fischer, William Ray Price Jr., Richard B. Teitelman and Michael A. Wolff. Laura Denvir Stith is the court's chief justice.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net

Muddy Water, I looked back a my posting and did not see the words "fine Judges" used. Those are your words. I agree that more consecutive sentences should be handed down. However, it is still then up to the DOC to decide how much of that time the inmate will serve. Not sure what you mean by "back room deals." If you mean plea bargains, that is the manner in which most cases are resolved. Even the smallest bit of investigation into plea bargains would show that the Public Defender is involved a majority of the time. That does not say "money" to me. If you think "back room deals" involve something illegal or underhanded, it would be interesting if you could point to even one example. As far as DOC is concerned, cannot comment. I know the system is screwed up when they are figuratively installing revolving doors in our prisons. Ditto on the amenities in our prisons. For many inmates, prison life is far better than their life on the outside.

-- Posted by OldOwl on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 8:30 AM

Well first of all, it's a proven fact that D.O.C. is in itself a joke. But before an inmate gets to D.O.C., it is the courts decision as to whether the sentences to be served are concurrent or consecutive. These fine Judges as you say, always hand out concurrent sentences, never consecutive. This means a lighter sentence.

Second, if you don't think that back room deals are not made in the courts everyday, you're hiding under a rock. Money talks and sh*t walks.....

As far a prison goes, our State needs to go back to work farms and chain gangs. They still have them in a few southern states. The last thing any of these inmates want to do is take any responsibility for the own actions. It's always someone elses fault, or they had a bad childhood, or they did drugs, or they drank, the list goes on and on and on...

The inmates should have to be self sufficient or do without. Stop giving every dead beat inmate that lays around on their bunks all day watching cable TV, smoking and eating snacks, a Tax Payer paid allowance every month. No inmate should ever be given an allowance. If an inmate works hard and complies with the rules, then and only then should they be given any credit for time served.

Take the Cable, basketballs, weight rooms, snacks, cigarettes, and Tax Payer Paid allowances out of prisons and make them what they should be. Every inmate works the fields, cleans the ditches, repairs roads, milks the cows, grows the crops and does something productive. A tired inmate will not want to ever go back. Inmates are not afraid of the system, they own it....

-- Posted by muddywater on Fri, Jun 12, 2009, at 12:38 AM

The Prosecutor and the Defense Attorney have no say so at all as to how much of a criminal sentence a defendant actually serves in Missouri's prisons. That is a matter left to the Missouri Department of Corrections. With few exceptions, the same is also true with regard to the Judge. If you really want a person sentenced to 20 years to actually serve 20 years, then you need to voice that concern in Jeff City and not criticize our local judges. I suspect the answer you will get from Jeff City is that they will then need to build and staff lots of new prison facilities. This means more and more taxpayer $$$$ spent on criminals. I still fail to see how plea bargains "take the just out of justice." Can anyone enlighten me in that regard?

-- Posted by OldOwl on Thu, Jun 11, 2009, at 12:05 PM

muddywater: I think you're misunderstanding my comment on this story. Plea bargains are the way most punishments are delivered, not just in Missouri, but in every state. It may not be ideal, but if every case went to trial, justice would be administered at a snail-like pace.

I have my own concerns about how sentences are administered, once they're handed down. It does seem like 20 years ought to be 20 years. If the justice system isn't broken, it's certainly badly injured, I can't disagree with that.

-- Posted by Kathy Fairchild on Thu, Jun 11, 2009, at 8:10 AM

Kathy,

I'm not attempting to be personal, but it appears that the paper is very biased in favor of our elected officials. It appears they can do no wrong in the papers eyes.

I will agree that all Counties have a very high rate of plea bargains. I think the justice system is broke. I think that a sentence of 20 years should mean 20 years, not 5 years. I just get tired of the criminals getting every chance in the world and handled with kit gloves, while the victims of crime suffer again and again.

I do feel that Judge Rolf is very soft on crime! I have never seen a case that he stands firm on and hands out hard punishment. It's become a let's make a deal court and pick which door the prise is behind, in my opinion. When Judge Rolf first ran for his office, he made alot of promises. I feel he hasn't lived up to those political speaches he made. I'm not attempting to campaign for any person or party, just attempting to ask a few questions and make some personal observations. I feel that most judges in this State have lost control of their court rooms under pressure from D.O.C. and lawyers. Defendants lawyers now judge shop in the state. I have had judges personally tell me that they go along with the plea bargain because the lawyers will just keep going until they find a judge who will rule in their favor. I think we need to put the word "JUST" back into justice!

What happend to all of the Judge Wilsons of the world. Now he was a judge that commanded and recieved respect in his court!! May he forever rest in peace...

-- Posted by muddywater on Thu, Jun 11, 2009, at 12:23 AM

muddywater: Saline County isn't unique in plea bargains. It's estimated that 90-95% of all cases across the U.S. end in a plea bargain.

-- Posted by Kathy Fairchild on Wed, Jun 10, 2009, at 10:22 PM

The reason Saline County doesn't have any appeals before the Supreme Court is because almost every case in the Saline County Circuit Court is plea bargained.

What a cast of characters for a political lineup.......There looks to be enough sucking up and back scratching going on. Hey now I know where the Partime Commissioners were.....lol

-- Posted by muddywater on Wed, Jun 10, 2009, at 7:04 PM

Justice Mary R. Russell is a geart person she has done many things that i think is great and Circuit Court Judge Dennis A. Rolfas well to bad i wasnt there to meet them agin

-- Posted by nichoil on Wed, Jun 10, 2009, at 12:24 PM