The Missouri Supreme Court chief justice usually delivers a speech each year to state legislators, but not Wednesday. After last week’s Supreme Court ruling striking down legislation about election ballot wording and the attorney general’s appeal power, Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, announced that the address was canceled.
The annual tradition is meant to bring the judicial and legislative branches of government together to highlight court accomplishments and provide a wish list to lawmakers. The high court’s unanimous court ruling on Senate Bill 22 lead to some Senate Republicans stalling the chamber’s business so they didn’t have to listen to what Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Powell had to say.
“They’re just going to do whatever the heck they want to do. They want to act like they’re the legislature,” said Brattin, the sponsor of SB 22.
In the court decision, it said the Missouri Legislature improperly added wording allowing the attorney general to appeal preliminary injunctions to temporarily block a law taking effect. The court said the wording was not related to the bill’s original purpose of changing the judicial review process for ballot summary disputes. The judicial review part would have given a larger role to the Missouri Secretary of State to revise ballot wording that is written by the legislature. The courts previously rewrote ballot wording earlier in such disputes.
The judges said because the state could not show the legislature would have passed the bill without the unconstitutional section, they tossed out the whole bill. The ruling reversed a lower court decision – ending both the citizen’s appeal and the state’s cross appeal.
“It was by mere and total and purely political means of reigning in judicial power that they threw this bill out,” said Brattin.
He referenced other court decisions ruling against the positions of many Republicans, such as Medicaid funding and abortion rights.
“The countless rulings of this court that flagrantly throws the constitution into the mud, stomps on it, and flips the middle bird to us every fricking day.”
When he was finished, other Republican senators, including Adam Schnelting and Joe Nicola, also voiced their opposition to the ruling.
The Supreme Court, made up of a majority of Republican governor appointees, ruled unanimously on the case.
House Majority Floor Leader Alex Riley, R-Springfield, told Missourinet he’s not sure who ultimately canceled the event. He said it could have been a combination of lawmakers and the Supreme Court.
Riley said since the Senate was in stall mode, the legislature could not have a joint session with both chambers. The Senate delay did not last long, but Riley said senators were prepared to go longer if the House did not quickly adjourn.
Will the event be rescheduled? Don’t hold your breath. Riley said what happened Wednesday would probably happen again if the address is rescheduled.
Could the House have held their own session without Senators? Riley said a joint session could not be called because of the Senate filibuster. He said the House could have held their own session if the speaker wanted to invite a special guest to address representatives.
In a written statement, House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said the chief justice was “snubbed over the Supreme Court doing its job.”
“Last week the Supreme Court struck down Senate Bill 22 for violating constitutional requirements governing the passage of bills. Since SB 22 had been dubbed by many as the Let Politicians Lie Act, it’s no surprise that lying politicians are upset the court did its job by demanding honesty. Unfortunately, this is just another sad example of majority Republicans throwing a temper tantrum whenever they don’t get their way,” said Aune.
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