Supreme Court of Missouri renounces use of photograph for political purposes

Recently, the Supreme Court of Missouri found out about a campaign mailer of Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s that features a photograph of Schmitt with three of the Court’s judges. The photograph was taken at a public event that the judges attended during the state’s bicentennial celebration last August. The judges attended the event as a celebration of the different branches of state government working together. The photo was taken with neither the Court nor its judges knowledge that it would go one to be distributed in a political context.

None of the judges did – or ever would – consent to their names, titles or likenesses being used in any political context. The Court hopes that Missouri citizens know that no Supreme Court judge would or could endorse a political candidate, and this photo should not be taken as such an endorsement despite the implication of the mailer.

Article V, section 25(f) of the Missouri Constitution prohibits Supreme Court judges from engaging in any political activity. They are reporting the incident as required by their judicial code of conduct and legal ethics. Meanwhile, the Court has asked the attorney general’s office to delete this photograph and any others like it from the office’s public or social media accounts to help prevent any further inappropriate use of such images.

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