JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri's next chief justice is open to tinkering with the judicial selection process but opposes changes that he said could make it more political.
Supreme Court Judge William Ray Price Jr. said he's receptive to a constitutional amendment that would place another citizen on the seven-member panel that nominates appellate judges.
That commission consists of Price, three attorneys elected by the Missouri Bar and three residents appointed by the governor.
The Supreme Court also could look into publicizing the full list of applicants for judicial vacancies, instead of just the three finalists, Price said.
But he opposes efforts to expand the number of judicial nominees submitted to the governor to five instead of three and to allow governors to request a second slate of candidates, Price said.