Judicial Selection in the States
Expiring state commission wants to select judge candidates months early
Tennessee :: June 9, 2013 :: Knoxville News Sentinel
Tennessee s Judicial Nominating Commission, which will cease to exist at the end of this month, is moving to play its role in naming successors...
Judges: Public financing has been tested, works
North Carolina :: June 9, 2013 :: Charlotte Observer
All but one of the 15 N.C. Court of Appeals judges judges who belong to both political parties have added their voices to the chorus...
Doug Clark says nonpartisan judicial elections help North Carolina
North Carolina :: June 8, 2013 :: Winston-Salem Journal
Fourteen of the 15 judges on the N.C. Court of Appeals sent a letter to Senate leader Phil Berger recently urging him to leave the...
In recent years, proposals have been introduced by legislators, governors, courts, and citizens' groups in nearly every state to limit the role of politics in the selection of state judges.
The extent of these activities underscores the recognition that an independent judiciary is essential to the maintenance of public trust and confidence in the court system.
The American Judicature Society, through funding from the Open Society Institute, has contributed to these efforts by compiling comprehensive information on judicial selection processes in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Topics covered include methods of selecting, retaining, and removing of judges; successful and unsuccessful reform efforts; the roles of parties, interest groups, and professional organizations in selecting judges; and the diversity of the bench.
- To view state-specific information, select a state from the drop-down menu in the upper right or from the map below.
- To view practices among states, select a topic on the left.