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Judicial Selection and Retention

Resource Guide

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David Rottman

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American Judges Association Annual Conference.

National Association of State Judicial Educators Annual Conference.

State justices are selected in a variety of ways: through the appointment without a nominating commission, by merit selection through a nominating commission, by partisan election, by nonpartisan election, or by merit selection combined with other methods.  Contemporary judicial selection concerns include the controversy over merit selection of judges vs. the election of judges, the need for judicial election reform, and the effect of the method of judicial selection on the number of minorities and women seated on the bench.

Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.

Featured Links

Gavel to Gavel Database Search the Gavel to Gavel legislation database based on state, year, legislation category, or any combination.  Bill Types = "Selection" and "Qualifications and Terms". 
Operating Effective Judicial Campaign Oversight Committees Resource Center Established by the National Center for State Courts, a non-profit organization  improving justice through leadership and service to state courts.  
Judicial Selection in the States

A Web site sponsored by the American Judicature Society, which has compiled 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 failed reform efforts; roles of parties, interest groups, and professional organizations in selecting judges; and the diversity of the bench.

Justice System Journal Articles
Trends Articles

General

2008 State Supreme Court Elections. (2008). Judgepedia With nearly 70 State Supreme Court seats up for retention or election, 2008 is proving to be an eventful year for the American judiciary. Specifically, twenty-one states will hold 39 contestable Supreme Court elections.
Kelly, Barbara. Advancing Civil Justice Reform. (January 2002). Civil Justice Reform Initiative.

More than 15 million civil cases are processed annually through the state courts. In 2000, The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) launched a major reform initiative to actively improve America's civil justice system.
Rottman, David. A Call to Action with Commentary. (November 2002).

The "Call To Action" was issued by the participants in the National Summit on Improving Judicial Selection, held on December 8-9, 2000 in Chicago, Illinois. This new edition of the Call To Action provides a commentary that introduces the four sections of the Call To Action and provides background on the 20 recommendations.
Reed, Barbara and Roy Schotland. Effective Judicial Campaign Conduct Committees. (November 2001).

A How To Handbook prepared for the Symposium on Judicial Campaign Conduct and the First Amendment.
Dann, Honorable B. Michael, David Rottman, and Lynn Grimes. Focus: Reforming State Judicial Elections. (January 2002). Civil Action Vol, 1 No.2.

"Call To Action" statement that came out of the Summit on Improving Judicial Selection.
Judicial Democracy. (October 2003). Lexington, KY, Council of State Government This edition of TrendsAlert reviews the rising costs of judicial campaigns, interest group involvement in judicial campaigns and public confidence in the judicial system.  The pros and cons of appointment, election and merit system selection of judges are weighed.  Finally, the resource concludes with discussion about issues regarding campaign finance and conduct, voter awareness and judicial conduct on the bench. 
Danos, Colleen. Judicial Election and Judicial Independence Concerns: Stepping Up to the Plate. (March 2003). Knowledge and Information Services Memorandum.

This staff memorandum discusses the relation of judicial selection methods, particularly judicial elections, to judicial independence. Concerns related to attacks on judicial candidates and attempts by business and political interests to influence judicial elections are examined.
Judicial Independence and Selection. (2006).

Top Ten article from "Future Trends in State Courts, 2006.
Aspin, Larry. Judicial Retention Election Trends: 1964-2006. (March 2007). Judicature 90, no. 5: 208 This article provides updates on four areas of interest concerning judicial retention: the affirmative vote, defeated judges, voter differentiation, and roll off.  The states used in the study include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming.  The author found that voters continue to retain almost all judges.
Judicial Selection and Service (Tables 4-11). (2006). State Court Organization 2004. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics These tables set forth qualifications for appellate and trial court judges, selection methods and terms of service, ongoing judicial education requirements, and rules governing judicial discipline in the states.
Rottman, David and Roy Schotland. Judicial Selection at the Crossroads. (January 2003). Report for the Conference of Chief Justices.

An overview of the 2002 Judicial Elections.
Caufield, Rachel Paine and Malia Reddick. Judicial Selection: The Process of Choosing Judges. (June 2008). ABA Coalition for Justice This resource provides a history of judicial selection, discusses current selection methods and provides reasons for reform, along with ideas as to where and how reforms should begin. 
O`Connor Judicial Selection Initiative. Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, University of Denver

On December 8, 2009, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (retired) launched the O'Connor Judicial Selection Initiative.  The Initiative seeks to foster change in state judicial selection systems nationwide, and focuses on best practices for states.  The Initiative advocates a judicial selection model consisting of four components that represent elements from both an appointment and an election model of judicial selection. The four components include:  commission; appointment; performance evaluation; and retention election.
Choi, Stephen J., G. Mitu Gulati, and Eric A. Posner. Professionals or Politicians: The Uncertain Empirical Case for an Elected Rather than Appointed Judiciary. (August 2007). The Law School, The University of Chicago This paper explores the differences between an elected and an appointed judiciary using measures of effort, skill and independence. 
Danos, Colleen with revisions by Kenneth Pankey. Responding to Unwarranted Criticism of Judges. (March 2003). Knowledge and Information Services Memorandum.

This memorandum is a description of the problem of and possible constructive approaches to the unwarranted criticism of judges.
Sample, James et al. The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2006. (2006). Justice at Stake Campaign, Washington, D.C. How 2006 Was the Most Threatening Year Yet to the Fairness and Impartiality of Our Courts - and How Americans are Fighting Back.  This report analyzes judicial election issues, such as television advertising, election spending and costs, interest group involvement, and reform efforts.  (KF8775 S26 2007).
Voter Opinion on the Election or Appointment of State Supreme Court Justices. (July 2008). American Justice Partnership Foundation This national survey shares voters' opinions about the merits of the arguments in favor of electing versus appointing state supreme court justices, as well as public campaign financing of such elections.
Where Do Colorado Judges Come From?. Colorado Bar Association Colorado Bar Association’s piece explaining the state’s merit selection plan as well as suggesting ways to improve the system.

Campaign Financing Reforms

Forum on Judicial Selection and Campaign Finance Reform. (September 1999). American Bar Association, Independence of the Judiciary Resources and Information Provides audio links to speeches on judicial selection.
Justice For Sale: An Investigation into How Campaign Cash is Corrupting America`s Courts. (1999). PBS Boston, Frontline Extensive website on judicial selection, including video, web links, quiz, and discussion board.

Handbooks

Judicial Campaign Ethics Handbook. (2003). New York: New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration, Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics

Running for Public Office: A Plain English Handbook for Candidates. (2005). Little Rock: Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners, Office of Secretary of State, Arkansas Ethics Commission

Women and Minority Judicial Candidates

Cerda, David A. Judicial Selection: A Hispanic Perspective. (Spring 2000). American Bar Association, Commission on Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Goal IX 6, no. 2
Jones, Sidney A., III. Judicial Selection: An African-American Perspective. (Spring 2000). American Bar Association, Commission on Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Goal IX 6, no. 2
Otaka, Sandra R. Judicial Selection: An Asian American Perspective. (Spring 2000). American Bar Association, Commission on Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Goal IX 6, no. 2
Cochet, Joan and Walt Latham. Judicial Selection and Retention Membership on State Court of Last Resort, by Gender. (July 2008).

A table of the number of women on state's courts of last resort.