Law Matters: Reflections of Chief Justice Michael A. Wolff

Missouri Judges Are Accountable ... To the Law

Discussion Questions

1. What are the various ways that Missouri voters can hold their judges accountable? What do we mean by “holding our judges accountable?”

2. In order for our courts to be fair, a voter needs to look beyond a judge’s personality or political affiliation. What standards should a voter use to decide whether to vote for the re-election of a trial judge or for retention of an appellate judge?

3. Judge Wolff writes that judges who are accountable to the law rather than their personal beliefs make “civilization” better. How do judges who are accountable to the law make us a more civilized society?