Hernandez is reporting that Franco "is said to live in a home in Platte County," presumably one outside the borders of Kansas City. Her most recent campaign finance report lists as her address a house in Kansas City off North Oak Trafficway.
If the allegation is true, Franco's flouting of the residency requirement represents another black eye for the city's Municipal Court judges, who have a reputation for being spoiled and allergic to accountability.
In 2003, The Kansas City Star ran a lengthy story about the judges' short workweeks. Using parking records, the Star determined that the judges spent on average less than 30 hours a week at the courthouse. At the time the Star story was printed, Municipal Court judges made higher salaries than any judges in Missouri except those on the Supreme Court. "It's a good gig," John B. Williams, one of the Municipal Court judges, was forced to acknowledge.
The Pitch has documented the exorbitant travel expenses that some judges have submitted to the city. In 2007, the city reimbursed Williams $2,184.58 for a trip to a judges conference in Maui. Mike McAdam, another Municipal Court judge, also made the trip to Hawaii on the city's dime. Earlier that same year, the pair traveled to a midyear meeting of the American Judges Association at an oceanfront resort in Florida; the three-day meeting cost the city $1,801.19 for both men.
Williams and McAdam would have a hard time arguing that the continuing education they received at these judges' meetings was worth the cost. We found that other cities in the metropolitan area sent their municipal judges to retreats in less costly (and less fun) places like Wichita and Lake of the Ozarks.
The judges feel that it's OK to treat themselves to short days and questionable trips because nobody tells them otherwise. This is from a column I wrote in 2008:
[O]nce they're appointed by the City Council, municipal judges are virtually guaranteed well-paid employment until they reach 65, the mandatory retirement age. The judges stand for election, yet the only opponents they face are themselves. Voters decide to retain or dismiss, and without alternative candidates making cases for the latter, judges wake up on Election Day feeling good about their chances. The system, the nonpartisan court plan, strives to reduce the role of politics in the judiciary. This is a good thing. The trade-off is a lack of accountability.
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Martin - maybe its time to stop resurrecting the tired story from 2003? That was 8 years ago. Half of the current judges weren't even judges then.
Drone-Thanks for the info.
EB-Unless I personally know of a judges integrity, I always vote to dismiss when election time rolls around. It seems to me its usually the long time judges that make the news for lies and corruption.
This is an excellent article which points out the difficulty of maintaining integrity on the bench in the absence of meaningful supervision or oversight by any real authority. The problem is general and certainly not limited to KCMO. Most Kansas judges, for instance, are appointed and then run "against themselves" every few years on a "yeah or nay" ballot. People who actually waste time voting on judicial retention ballots typically know almost nothing about that particular judge -- and yet most are "approved for further service" by 80% of the voters in any given election. It's herd mentality, plain and simple. The net result is that most state judges in Kansas, just like their municipal counterparts in KCMO, enjoy a virtual lifetime appointment with all of its many financial perks. A better deal than even federal judges get, in some respects. They too serve for life, but only after being nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. And comparing the education, training and experience of most federal judges to that of most state and local judges is like comparing gold to tin.
Mike McAdam has been nursing the municipal tit for decades. He's never worked a day in his life as an attorney. Why should he? It's easier to sit on your ass, wear a black robe and pretend like you're doing something of real significance.
HELLO,-WHY-DID-IT-TAKE-SO-LONG-TO-BRING-THIS-TO-LITE????THIS-DIDN'T-START-YESTERDAY,-WHERE'S-THE-JUSTICE,DO-YOU-REALLY-WANT-THESE-PEOPLE-IN-CHARGE-OF-"OUR"-LEGAL-SYSTEM,-ENOUGHT-SAID!!!!!
Wink - Missouri uses a nonpartisan plan for the selection of judges. There is no campaigning, and so there are no campaign contributions. the missouri courts webpage has more info about the selection process www.courts.mo.gov
They all sound sleazy to some extent or another. It's part of the sick and corrupt mentality that contributes to the general breakdown of society, including thugs, cops, elected officials and politicians, etc. Very sad.
We need to see more of this.
In my opinion, its an abuse of power for an elected official not to be held to the guidlines and stipulations of their position.
Not being knowledgeable on a how you get nominated to be a judge, someone please tell me there are no campaign contributions involved.....
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