Springfield legal expert Crista Hogan to discuss MO judge selections during Drury talk

Staff reports
·2 min read

Crista Hogan, executive director of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, will be part of Drury University's upcoming Meador Center Speaker Series event on March 28.

Hogan, an attorney and adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs, will give a talk on "Balancing Justice: The Missouri Plan for Judicial Selection.”

A native of Springfield, Hogan has more than two decades of legal expertise and leadership.

Crista Hogan is the Executive Director of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.
Crista Hogan is the Executive Director of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.

Daniel Ponder, director of the Meador Center for Politics and Citizenship, said Hogan's appearance is part of the university’s 150th anniversary.

“Crista’s keen mind and brilliant analysis always cut to the core of any issue,” Ponder said, in a news release. “Crista is one of the most well-known attorneys in the area, and from her vantage point as executive director of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, she is in a position to observe all manner of law and legal practice.”

In the talk, Hogan will delve into the nuances of the Nonpartisan Court Plan adopted in Missouri in 1940, forever changing what we know as judicial selection and serving as a model for numerous other states.

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With courts and judicial appointments becoming increasingly contentious in the political landscape, Hogan's discussion promises to offer timely insights into the effectiveness and challenges of the Missouri Plan after eight decades of implementation.

"The citizen-driven adoption of the Nonpartisan Court Plan in 1940 changed how we select judges in Missouri and subsequently influenced the judicial selection process in 34 other states," said Hogan, in the release. "The model was pivotal but not perfect. Eighty years later, critics allege it is very partisan, and even proponents admit it is highly political. But does it work?"

The Meador Center Speaker Series event is titled "Grand Be Thy Destiny" and is free and open to the public. It will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 28 in the Olin Room in F.W. Olin Library at 900 N. Benton Ave. on the Drury campus.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Legal expert Crista Hogan to discuss Missouri judicial selection