SOC205 - WEEK 3 - DISCUSSION 1

SOCIETY, LAW AND GOVERNMENT

"State Judge Selection Criteria"

From the e-Activity, compare and contrast the methods that states use within their selection process for judges, and specify the selection criteria that each state that you reviewed have in common. Provide specific examples to support your rationale.

The methods of judicial selection vary from state to state across the United States. Basically, there are five main methods as follows: Partisan elections, Nonpartisan elections, Legislative elections, Gubernatorial appointment, assisted appointment also known as Merit selection or the Missouri Plan.

These judges are in positional court rooms that conversely cover the state and they are the trial courts of limited jurisdiction (infractions, misdemeanors, felonies), trial courts of general jurisdiction (juvenile criminal offenses, domestic relation cases, probate cases – Names of the Courts are district, circuit and superior), intermediate appellate courts (court of appeals), and courts of last resort.

Example – Texas

In Texas, Partisan election of judges at each court level is the advocated methodology for selecting judges for full terms by supportive authority in state trials courts of general jurisdiction as well as for the state court of last resort which is the appellate court. Allowed term lengths vary, but all judges must run for re-election at the end of their term.

Appellate Court

This court has nine justices on the supreme court with nine judges of the court of criminal appeals being selected in partisan elections statewide with 80 judges of the court appeals selected by district. Term allowed are six years after which they must run for re-election.

Selection of the Chief Justice or Judge

The chief justice or judge of each court is selected by voters at large whether male or female and serves a six year term. Qualifications to serve on an appellate court, a judge must be U.S. citizen, resident of Texas, license to practice law in the state, between the ages of 35 and 75, practicing lawyer and or judge for at least 10 years, no judge who is older than 74 may run for office those who are (sitting judges) turning 75 are permitted to continue serving until their terms expire.

Note, in the case of a mid-term vacancy the governor has the right to appoint a replacement who is then confirmed by Texas Senate to fulfill position until term expires and compete for the next term.

District Court

Like the appellate judges, the judges of the Texas District Courts are chosen in partisan elections and serve four year terms and must run for re-election when over. Texas has more than 400 district courts that are grouped into nine administrative judicial regions. A presiding judge is appointed by the governor to a four year term with the allowance of being a “regular elected or retired district judge, a former judge with at least 12 years of service as a district judge or a retired appellate judge with judicial experience on a district court.” for the nine administrative regions.

Qualifications to serve are as follows: a U.S. citizen, a resident of Texas, licensed to practice law in the state, between the ages of 25 and 75, a practicing lawyer and or state judge for at least four years and a resident of his or her respective judicial district for at least two years. Further no judge can be older than 74 and run for office, sitting judges who turn 75 are permitted to continue serving until their term expires. If a vacancy occurs the district court fills vacancies by gubernatorial appointment with senate approval and fulfill term until over and competes to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.

County Courts

The county courts includes two categories of judgeships: The constitutional county courts (judgeship created by the statute) which includes the Texas Statutory Probate Courts and the Texas County Courts at Law. Parallel aspects of the judgeship are the same with all county level judges elected in partisan elections by the county they serve and serve four year terms with vacancies filled by a vote by the county commissioners.

The constitutional county courts are distributed throughout Texas and are attributed to 254 counties that are segmented with the judges servings ex officio as the head of each county’s court. In order to be a judge a law license is not needed and the only qualification for office is that a candidate “shall be well informed of the law”.

County Court at Law

These statutory county courts (county courts at law) are established by the Texas Legislature. In order to serve on a county court at law a judge must be at least 25 years old, be a resident of his or her respective county for at least two years and have practiced law or served as a judge for at least four years preceding the election

Probate Courts

Statutory probate courts are also established by the state legislature with qualifications for probate judges the same as those for the county court at law judges.

Justice of the Peace Court

Members of the Texas Justice of the Peace Courts are elected in partisan elections and serve four year terms and are elected in precinct wide elections. Further to serve as a justice of the peace they must complete a 40 hour course on the relevant duties within one year of his or her election and also complete a similar 20 hour course each year they continue to serve.

Municipal Courts

Rulings regarding judges of the Texas Municipal Courts vary by each city’s charter. The majority of the judges are appointed to a two year term by the city’s governing body although some compete in partisan elections.

Example – Michigan

State Court Judges Selection

In Michigan, Non-partisan election of judges is the advocated methodology for selecting judges for full terms in state trials courts of general jurisdiction as well as for the state court of last resort which is the appellate court. Also, at the end of their terms they must run for re-election.

Supreme Court

For the Michigan Supreme Court seven justices are chosen in nonpartisan elections and serve eight year terms and must be re-elected if they wish to continue serving. Further incumbent judges seeking re-election have to file an affidavit of candidacy to request being placed on the ballot while non-incumbent candidates must either file a nominating petition or obtain a partisan nomination at a party convention (note: incumbency is noted on the ballot although party affiliation is not.)

The chief justice of the court serves a two year term and is elected by his or her fellow justices.

Qualifications needed to be elected to this court require a judge to be a qualified elector, be licensed to practice law in the state, have at least five years of law practice experience, be under the age of 70 and if they have obtained the age of 70 they are allowed to serve out the remainder of their term.

In the case of a mid-term vacancy, the governor appoints a replacement to serve until the next general election in conjunction with the state bar’s standing committee on judicial qualifications interviews, with evaluation, rating of all candidates and submitting of confidential reports to select.

Court of Appeals and Circuit Court

The 28 judges of the Michigan Court of Appeals and the 221 judges of the Michigan Circuit Court are selected identically with each serving a six year term. As like the supreme court justices they are chosen in nonpartisan elections and have to run for re-election to continue serving. However, unlike the supreme court candidates are placed on the ballot via nonpartisan primaries or by nominating petitions.

The chief judges of the appeals and circuit courts are selected by supreme court appointment with terms lasting two years.

To be elected to either of these courts a judge must be a qualified elector of his or her district, be licensed to practice law in the state, have at least five years of law practice experience, be under the age of 70 and if the judge (sitting judge) has reached the age of 70 they are allowed to serve out the remainder of their term.

If there is a vacancy on the appeals and circuit court, the process is identical to the procedure used by the supreme court and with the assistance of the judicial qualifications committee the governor selects a replacement to serve until the next general election.

Limited Jurisdiction Courts

District Courts

Michigan District Courts judges are each elected to six year terms. The elections for this court are nonpartisan contested elections and in order to serve a judge must be a qualified elector of the district, licensed to practice law in the state, under the age of 70 and have five years of experience practicing law.

Probate Courts

Michigan Probate Courts judges are each elected to six year terms. The elections for this court are nonpartisan contested elections and to serve a judge must be a qualified elector of the district, licensed to practice law in the state, under the age of 70 and have five years of experience practicing law.

Juvenile Courts

Michigan Juvenile Courts judges are each elected to four year terms. The elections for this court are nonpartisan and contested elections and to serve on this court, a judge must be a qualified elector of the district, licensed to practice law in the state and under the age of 70.

Example – Illinois

In Illinois, Partisan election of judges is the advocated methodology for selecting judges for full terms by supportive authority.

State Court Judges Selection

In Illinois, Partisan election of judges occurs through partisan elections followed by nonpartisan retention elections.

Supreme and Appellate Court

The seven justices of the Illinois Supreme Court and the forty-two judges of the Illinois Appellate Court are selected in an identical manner with judges being chosen by popular vote in partisan elections and who serve ten year terms after which they must compete in uncontested nonpartisan retention elections to continue serving. Unlike most states ( particularly Texas and Michigan), the supreme and appellate court justices in Illinois are elected to represent specific districts and the seven districts are divided among five districts (three allocated to Cook County and the others divided evenly among the other four districts) and are voted into office by the resident of their respective regions.

The qualifications to serve on either of these two courts a judge must be a U.S. citizen, a district resident and licensed to practice law in Illinois. The selection of the chief justice or judge of the supreme court is chosen by peer vote to serve a three year term with the chief judges of appellate courts being selected as well by peer vote to serve for only one year. Further in the event of a midterm vacancy the Illinois Supreme Court is responsible for appointing an interim judge. This judge serves until the next general election occurs at least 60 days after his or her appointment at which point the judge must run in a partisan election to continue serving.

Circuit Court

There are 513 judges on the Illinois Circuit Court who are elected in partisan elections to six year terms and at completion judges that wish to continue must compete in uncontested nonpartisan retention elections. The chief judge of each circuit court as with the supreme and appellate court is selected by peer vote that he or she serves in that capacity indefinitely. Further the circuit courts are also served by 391 associate judges who are limited in that they may not preside over cases in which the defendant is charged with a felony (an offense punishable by one or more years in prison). Associate judges are appointed to four year terms by circuit judges and mid-term vacancies are filled by Illinois Supreme Court appointment as they are on the other courts.

During the examining of Texas, Michigan and Illinois there is a prevalency of consistency of appointing of judges with terms designated, procedure of selecting judges, jurisdiction allowances or segmented sectors that the court covers.

In contrast to Michigan and Illinois, Texas has a lot more organization with different originations and dictates Illinois is the more approachable with terms lasting not as long and probably more easier to obtain a starting position and understanding.

Identify at least two (2) risks associated with selecting judges via a non-partisan election process. Explain the key reasons why you believe each risk could potentially inhibit the fairness of trials. Provide specific examples to support your rationale.

Two risks that are associated with selecting judges via a non-partisan election process are (1) compromising of integrity and fairness, (2) Inability or lack of representational base of historical quality.

One of the reasons, I believe that compromises the procedure in selecting judges via a non-partisan election process is that the compromising of integrity is possible when a person can be elevated to a such a state of importance but unfortunately the level of prejudice, bias and bigotry compromises any acts of integrity when dealing with those of a different race or gender. Secondly, this lack of consequence is due to an inheritory lack that reflects a sad socialization pattern that has been carried down throughout the generations of well-do but not the good conduct or instilling of stern and uncompromisable honor.

Example One, P. 139, Judicial Process in America, William Harold Cox, is reflected as a racist who was nominated by President John F. Kennedy because of Senator James O. Eastland of Mississippi refusal to support his appointment of a seat for Thurgood Marshall on the appellate court.

Example Two, P. 139 and P. 140, Judicial Process in America, In the case of President Bush’s attempts to nominate candidates to the appellate court all attempts were blocked, foiled by using a filibuster. This served as an unmitigating stone that allowed no overturning.

Thank you.

Felicia

https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_the_states

https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_Texas

https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_Michigan

https://ballotpedia.org/Nonpartisan_election_of_judges

SOCIETY, LAW AND GOVERNMENT
WEEK 3 - DISCUSSION 1
RESPONSE TO CO-STUDENT

I enjoyed reading your post ... it made it a little easier in lodging partisan and non-partisan in the memory.

Some may view the appointment process as not being democratic but when the process of verifying this and that, qualifications this is perceived as a "yes" for the serious and "no" for those who won't stick it out.

Unfortunately, temptation is lodged in all and corruption becomes not a second seat passenger but a front seat friend.

Life is filled with its unique challenges of acceptance of each other and either corrective bias or learned bias. These things are taught and learned.

Thank you.

Felicia

https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_Illinois