Court Opinion

ID: 9673930
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 04:20:35.032187+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:06:33.797911
License: Public Domain

BILLINGS, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I agree with the principal opinion’s reasons and conclusion that the “freeholder” provision of the Missouri Constitution violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. I cannot agree that the unconstitutional provision can properly be severed from the section so as to permit the appointment of a new Board. In my view, the “freeholder” requirement taints the entire section. Neither can I agree *86that the petition for declaratory judgment can be construed to permit the appointment of a new Board.
I would reverse the case with directions to enter a judgment for appellants.