Missouri Supreme Court Says Counties Must Contribute to Prosecutors' Pension Fund

The Supreme Court of Missouri has ruled that Missouri counties must contribute to a state retirement fund for prosecuting and circuit attorneys in a move that helps ensure the future of the system.

“This preserves the retirement system, which otherwise might have been endangered by a lack of contributions,” said Jeffrey McPherson, an Armstrong Teasdale LLP partner who represented the Missouri Prosecuting Attorneys and Circuit Attorneys Retirement System (PACARS).

PACARS serves about 200 active, inactive and retired prosecutors throughout the state.

The 4-3 opinion, dated March 23, 2010, was made in case filed by PACARS against Barton County. Barton is one of several counties that had stopped making contributions to the fund.

“It is a significant decision in that we expect other counties will reassess their position,” said Kent Lowry, another Armstrong Teasdale partner who represents PACARS. “We hope and trust they will acknowledge what they need to pay under the clear terms of the statute.”

Although the court held that counties must help pay for prosecutors’ pensions, Judge Michael Wolff, in a concurring opinion, criticized the state for “seeking justice on the cheap.”

“We should acknowledge that the state’s interest in its criminal justice system exceeds its willingness to pay the costs,” Wolff wrote. “In this case, the burden of this unwillingness falls on the counties, many of which are strapped for money to meet their other obligations.”

He said that spending for criminal justice is a necessity “not an optional luxury.” The court’s decision “allows the state to continue relying on a patchwork of locally funded county-by-county prosecution offices for the administration of justice.”

The case stems from a decision by Barton County to end payments to the pension fund in 2002 after the Missouri Department of Social Services stopped reimbursing it for those contributions. PACARS was created by a 1989 Missouri law that was amended in 1995 to require counties to make contributions regardless of reimbursement.

The county argued that it was exempt from the payments under the “Hancock Amendment,” a section of the Missouri Constitution that generally bars the state from forcing counties to pay for a new service or increased level of service without a state appropriation to cover it. Barton County contended that salary increases to county officials constitute a new level of service.

Although the trial court sided with the county, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the ruling and remanded the case. The state’s highest court held that an amendment to the Missouri Constitution specifically provides that an increase in compensation of county officers does not constitute a new or increased level of service or activity.