Bond's exit could mean judicial changes

U.S. Sen. Kit Bond's January announcement that his current term is his last may alter the course of federal judicial appointments.

Bond's successor, and the decisions that person makes, also will have significant impact on the legal and business communities.

That's because Bond, like all U.S. senators, can influence federal judicial nominations and appointments, and the rulings those judges make can alter the business landscape in unforeseen ways.

"Right now, I think everyone agrees that the business climate is at a critical state, and now more than ever, courts can have a huge impact on our business climate's health," said Jennifer Wolsing, president of the St. Louis branch of the Federalist Society, which advocates for separation of government powers and strict interpretation of the law.

Bond said he prefers to appoint judges who follow a strict interpretation standard.

"The judges that best reflect Missouri values are those who respect the laws ... and do not inject their own personal opinions," Bond said in an e-mailed statement. "That is what has guided me and I hope my successor will do the same for Missouri."

Potential impact

Any U.S. senator, including whoever is elected to fill Bond's seat, can have significant impact on all federal courts, as federal judiciary appointments are made by the president, often after advice from legislators, and voted on by the Senate.

"Obviously, one vote is one vote, but he would have that little bit of input over those federal vacancies," Wolsing said.

The influence of a senator's lone vote, however, can be far reaching, Wolsing added, because federal legislators tend to defer to and rely on the advice of local representatives in matters pertaining to regional courts such as U.S. Circuit Court appointments.

During Bond's tenure, which began with his first Senate election in 1984, all 11 active judges on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were appointed - including two from Missouri - as well as seven judges on the bench of the U.S. Courts for the Western District of Missouri.

But each state's senior senator, a title Bond holds in Missouri, also has more say regarding judicial appointments in the Show-Me State, according to St. Louis attorney Doreen Dodson of The Stolar Partnership LLP.

Dodson, a former representative of the U.S. 8th Judicial Circuit to the American Bar Association's Judiciary Committee, which conducts investigations on behalf of the ABA into all federal judicial appointments, noted that when Bond retires, Democrat Claire McCaskill will become Missouri's senior senator. Dodson said that change could lead to more diversity on the bench.

"There are very few Asian-Americans, very few Hispanic-Americans, not very many African-Americans, and not many women on the bench (in our circuit)," Dodson said. "I would suspect that, knowing Sen. McCaskill's interests, she would be interested in making sure the bench - both here in the state and in the 8th Circuit - was more diverse, and she would have a lot of influence in that."

The ideal judge

Wolsing, who's also an attorney with Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP in St. Louis, said that while there is no ideal judge for every businessperson, there are a few qualities that would make a bench candidate appealing to most of the business community.

The most desirable quality, Wolsing said, is a judge who looks at the law as it's written, rather than how it could be interpreted.

"It really allows businesses to make predictions and plans," Wolsing said. "When there are no surprises regarding liability, you have a stable business model."

The other main quality, Wolsing said, is a judge who is fair - not necessarily biased toward defendants, she said, but definitely not biased toward plaintiffs.

"Knowing that the judges aren't going to view the courts as a lottery ticket where huge punitive damages can be rewarded, out of proportion to what the compensatory damages are, where judges don't bend over backward for personal injury attorneys or union attorneys - that's a big deal," Wolsing said.

Dodson, however, noted that McCaskill is more attuned to the desires of labor unions.

McCaskill has historically supported union issues, having received endorsements and support in her 2006 bid for the Senate from several unions including the International Association of Firefighters, the AFL-CIO and Service Employees International Union.

The problem with making predictions, she noted, is the wild card of having a new president in office.

"I do think that judicial appointments are one of the most important things a senator and the president are involved in," Dodson said. "But we have a different president now, so I don't know how those judicial appointments would come down."[[In-content Ad]]