With little fanfare, Gov. Eric Greitens appointed W. Brent Powell to the Missouri Supreme Court this past week.Greitens issued a press release describing the Jackson County Circuit Court Judge as “an outstanding jurist, fair-minded and of the highest integrity.”Greitens hit the nail on the head. Powell is all of those things and eminently qualified to serve on our state’s highest court. He is a former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s office and has presided over a wide range of cases. He is one of the most down-to-earth people we’ve ever met and will make a great judge.So would have Ben Lipman and Judge Lisa Hardwick, the other two finalists selected by Appellate Judicial Commission. They were all qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. That was further demonstrated by the fact that all three had made other judicial panels in the past. Cream rises to the top.That’s not how some critics of the Missouri Court Plan saw it when the final panel was announced earlier this year. Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, for instance, complained that the panel wasn’t conservative enough. To be sure, Powell has a Republican background and the other two have Democratic backgrounds.But party background or political ideology isn’t a criteria the judicial commission uses in vetting applicants. That hasn’t stopped critics, including former governors, from complaining that the finalists selected by the commission weren’t conservative or liberal enough for their tastes. In fact, Greitens suggested during his campaign that the Nonpartisan Court Plan needs to be changed.Appointing judges is one of the most important responsibilities a governor is tasked with and the fact that Greitens didn’t knock the system in picking Powell is noteworthy. It demonstrates that Missouri’s Nonpartisan Court Plan, which is considered a national model, is working as intended.We understand Powell’s selection won’t silence opponents of the plan. Likewise, it would be naive to suggest the Nonpartisan Court Plan is absolutely nonpartisan.We aren’t aware of a system of choosing judges where you can completely insulate politics or biases from the process. But the Missouri plan does a pretty good job. Judge Powell is “Exhibit A.”