By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A St. Louis County attorney is floating a plan to replace the way Missouri chooses judges.
Bill Placke says the current selection process, known as the Missouri Plan, is secretive and lacks lawmakers' input.
His plan calls for a 10-member commission to nominate judges, from which the governor will appoint a nominee and the senate will confirm.
Placke says he'd like lawmakers to put the plan on the November 2008 ballot but if not he'd support a petition drive.
"My hope is that once again Missourians rise to the occasion and the legal community rises to the occasion as they did 70 years ago and say 'here's the right plan and let's lead the nation again'," Placke said.
The Missouri Bar Association supports the current method of choosing judges
It requires the governor to choose one of three nominees put forward by a commission.
More than 30 states have copied the so-called 'Missouri Plan' since its adoption in 1940.