The Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness was created by order of the Supreme Court of Missouri in October 2015. The goal of the commission is to eliminate systemic barriers to racial and ethnic fairness in the Missouri court system by identifying challenges, researching solutions and making recommendations for improvement.

Announcing the creation of the commission during an address to lawyers and judges at a joint annual meeting, then-Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge said: "We all need to do everything we can to ensure that every individual in every case in our system of justice is treated with respect and has his or her case adjudicated fairly and impartially according to the law."

The commission has identified six areas of focus for which committees will identify solutions and make recommendations for improving racial and ethnic fairness: the judicial system generally; the civil justice system; the criminal justice system; the juvenile justice system; the municipal justice system; and the practice of law. (Two subcommittees also have been created to support and enhance the work of all of the committees and the commission: data and public engagement.)

The commission's annual reports, updates and other information are linked in more detail from this page.

Contact the commission at:

Supreme Court of Missouri
Post Office Box 150
Jefferson City, MO 65102
(573) 522-8242