Different states select judges in different ways. There are currently five different ways that our states select their high court judges, known as Supreme Court Justices in most of the states: (1) Some states hold partisan elections, where the citizens vote on who they want to be judges after learning what political party each candidate belongs to; (2) Some hold non-partisan elections, where citizens vote for judges but are not told which party any particular judge belongs to; (3) Some use a “merit-selection” plan, which has a panel of citizens (sometimes known as a selection commission) evaluate applicants for a judgeship and recommend a few of the best qualified candidates to the Governor, who then appoints one of the panel’s recommended applicants to the high court; (4) Some have the Governor appoint judges without a selection commission making recommendations; and (5) Some have the legislature appoint judges without help from a selection commission. Which system do you think is best?
Check below to see how your state selects its high court Justices.
(1) Partisan Elections (6 states)
Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia
(2) Non-Partisan Elections (15 states)
Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin
(3) Merit-Selection Plan – Governor Appointment (24 states)
Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia
(4) Governor Appointment without help from a selection commission (3 states)
California, Maine, New Jersey
(5) Legislative Appointment without help from selection commission (2 states)
South Carolina, Virginia
To find out how different kinds of judges are selected in your state, visit the American Judicature Society.