Improving Our Judicial System
Nations around the world admire the constitutional processes of the United States. At the cornerstone of our Constitution is the process by which the three branches of government work together to uphold the rule of law. This adherence to the rule of law combined with the appropriate checks and balances ensures a fair and balanced structure.
This past week, Chief Justice Ray Price of the Missouri Supreme Court addressed a joint session of the General Assembly during the annual State of the Judiciary Address. During his speech, Chief Justice Price addressed many troubling statistics from within our prison system which signal the need for reform. For example, nearly sixty percent of those released from our state prisons end up back in the system within five years. This high rate of recidivism underscores the need for improvements to our criminal justice system and the current way we manage offenders. It is time for the legislative branch and the judicial branch to work together to design a criminal justice system that produces better results for the people of our state.
Another area of Missouri law needing rebalanced is in the area of nuisance lawsuits. No industry can ensure long term sustainability in an unjust and unfair legal environment. When this imbalance occurs, it is imperative that a reasonable and responsible solution is found so that a fair and appropriate balance can be re-established. Last week, the senate ag committee had a hearing on Senate Bill 187. SB187 attempts to balance the rights of Missouri’s agricultural producers with those of neighboring landowners. As agriculture production has evolved in both size and scope, it has created real challenges in many of our rural communities. While everyone is entitled to their day in court and should be compensated if their property is negatively impacted, opportunistic out of state lawyers have built a business model on bringing unfair and unreasonable lawsuits against Missouri farmers. If left unchecked, we will continue to weaken Missouri agriculture and the economic prosperity that it supports. We must find a reasonable balance that affords affected landowners their day in court while enacting reasonable parameters to address their complaints.
As I listened to the State of the Judiciary address and watched the hearing of SB 187, I was reminded of the great gifts we have been given by our founding fathers, and the responsibility we have to ensure that future generations understand, respect, and carry on our nation’s self-governance. Although the solutions are not always easy and the degree of fairness is often in the eye of the beholder, we are blessed to have a governmental process that allows for a rebalance when the scale begins to lean. It is this process of rebalancing that ensures a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
As always, please feel free to call, email, or write with your ideas or concerns. The Capitol number is (573) 751-1415, my email is brad.lager@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 422, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.
1 comment:
creating rural areas housing animals that create the waste equivalent of cities with hundreds of thousands of people is not agricultural evolution.
The imputus to construct these facilities is not driven by small farm families, but by corporations. They are simply bigger than they should be.
Taking away rights from local residents to boot is just plain wrong. It's not their design flaw.
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