The Board of Commissioners of the County of Franklin, State of Missouri Tim Brinker, Presiding Commissioner Todd…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the Judicial Finance Commission’s dismissal of the Franklin County Commission’s petition for review, holding that the commission correctly exercised its authority to dismiss and to deny leave to amend. The Court clarified that the statutory Maintenance of Effort (MOE) is a minimum funding obligation, not a cap, and that the petition did not allege unreasonable funding beyond that minimum. Accordingly, the JFC’s actions were reviewed de novo (except for the leave‑to‑amend decision, which is reviewed for abuse of discretion).