COLUMBIA, MO (AP) -- Missouri residents will now be able to observe a state panel's interviews of prospective judges as well as nominate potential candidates and find out the panel's votes.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. announced the changes Thursday at an annual meeting of nearly 1,000 lawyers and judges in Columbia.
Missouri's nonpartisan nomination and selection plan for appointing judges to appeals courts and urban trial courts has been challenged by critics who favor direct elections of all judges.
An effort to collect enough petition signatures to force a statewide vote on the issue in November fell short earlier this year.
The latest changes are the most recent step in a gradual increase in the information available about those seeking spots on the bench.
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