New Missouri Chief Justice Stresses Judicial Independence

Missouri’s new Chief Justice says the judiciary is under attack by those who want to shape the court system to match their political positions. That’s why Michael Wolff says he plans to spend time reminding people of the hallmarks of the American court system – independence, accountability, autonomy, and the effective delivery of services. Wolff says those are not just things he pulled out of the air. Wolff says the state acted more than a half-century ago to take the highest levels of the judiciary out of politics as much as possible because of political control of judges. He doesn’t want that kind of atmosphere to return.