The State Judical Selection Process

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The State Judicial Selection Process

The judicial selection process refers to a system through which the federal and the state government select their judges. Each state has its own judicial selection process for the court systems in the United States (Neubauer and Meinhold, 2016). Such processes are important in determining the applicants who are capable of being judges in the states. The processes specifically provide the steps and circumstances through which a sitting judge can be removed from office. Moreover, different states have unique conditions regarding the removal of sitting judges from office.

The state of Texas

In Texas State, Selecting of state court judges is conducted via partisan elections in every court level. The length of the sitting terms is different but every judge must run for re-election after the completion of their terms. According to the Texas constitution, lawyers or judges terms start on January 1st after election or re-election.

Qualifications

Texas State has 4 kinds of courts which include the Supreme Court, court of criminal appeals, the district court and the court of appeals. Several qualifications are required to become a judge in the state and acquire a position in any of the courts previously listed. First and foremost, one must be a citizen of the U.S. The applicant must also have a degree in law and also be a resident of Texas State for at least two years. The other necessity is that the applicant must have a license which authorizes one to practice law in any state of the United States of America. Additionally, to serve on any of the courts in Texas State, a judge must be between 35 and 75 years of age and also be a practicing lawyer or judge for at least ten years. However, judges who are older than 74 years may not run for office. The sitting judges who turn 75 years are allowed to serve till their terms expire.

The steps incorporated in the judicial selection process in Texas State

Different steps are followed in selecting judges into the various court systems. Through the partisan elections, judges are elected to serve full time in all the courts. A partisan vote includes an election process through which is focused on selecting the best candidate from the distinct parties (State of Texas, 2019). The selected judges serve for a period of six years in the Supreme Court, the court of appeal and the court of criminal appeal.

For a district court, the full term for a judge is four years. After a term is over, the judges can apply for re-election. The governor also appoints judges to fill various interim vacancies. The appointees must, however, be approved by the Senate. After an interim election, the judges will hold the offices for the remainder of an unexpired term (State of Texas, 2019). The state also selects a chief judge or justice by use of a popular vote. The judge will then be in office for six years. The judges for the Supreme Court and the Court of criminal approach can be selected from any part of the state. However, must be a resident in the same district to become a judge in a Court of appeal or a district court.

During elections, the Supreme Court selects judges and the chief just. 8 judges are elected to work in the court for a period of six years. They are selected through partisan elections or state wide elections (State of Texas 2019). The vacancies between elections are filled by gubernatorial appointment with consent and advice from senate. In the court of criminal appeals, 8 judges and 1 presiding judge are elected through partisan elections ore statewide elections. Also, the vacancies between elections are filled by gubernatorial appointment with consent and advice from senate as in the Supreme Court. In the court of appeals, each court selects 1 chief justice and two to twelve additional judges, making a total of 80 justices in the state.

The Washington state

Personally, I am a resident of Washington State. In this state there are four levels of courts which include the Supreme Court, the court of appeals, the Supreme Court, district and municipal courts. The municipal and district courts are regarded as courts of limited jurisdiction. Judges in the Washington state are selected through nonpartisan elections (Washington, 2019). The qualified judges who wish to retain their positions are allowed to run for re-election. Majority of the members in the high court are women making the state judiciary composition a bit different from the other states. According to the Washington State constitution, a judge serves from the 2nd Monday in January after their election.

The selection process

During the nonpartisan elections, 9 justices are selected in the Supreme Court. In the court of appeals, 22 judges are selected while in the superior court, 186 judges are selected. The judges are required to participate in the elections without any affiliation to parties. They must also run for re-election if their years of service expire. The judges selected for the court of appeals and the Supreme Court serve for six years while judges in the superior court serve for four years (Washington, 2019).

Here, the selection of judges or the chief justice of each court is done through peer votes with the terms lengths being different. The chief justice of the supreme serves for a period of for years. The chief judge in the court of appeals serves for a period of one year with the chief judge of each superior court in the Washington State serving for at least one year. A longer term for the chief judge of each superior court in Washington can be established by the local rulers. In our state, the citizens do not have a right in deciding the applicant who is or not eligible to maintain their job positions in the office or rather be re-elected.

In Washington State, the removal of judges from the office is carried out in twofold. One method is whereby a judge is ejected from the office in a ¾ of a common resolution by the selected representative advocates for their confiscation (Washington, 2019). The second method incorporates a commission of judicial hearing which evaluates and analyzes the claims of legal incapacity. After the analysis and thorough evaluation, the commission sends a report to the Supreme Court and recommends the removal or suspension of the judge. The Supreme Court then makes the final judgment after viewing the report generated by the commission and attending to a hearing.

In our state, judicial candidates are expected to carry out campaigns. The campaigns are aimed at attracting the Washington residents support their election via their votes during the election period. In the campaign period, the candidates are bound to proof himself as the outstanding candidate and look for campaign donations. Super campaigning is required for a particular applicant to become a judge. One is required to attract more voters to his favor provided that the professional requirements are and uncompromised.

In the event of a midterm vacancy in the Washington state, the governor selects a qualified person for replacement. The appointed personnel serve till the proceeding general election. During the general election, the appointee can run to serve for the remaining term of the predecessor. In case resignation and subsequent appointment occurs after the filling period for that year opens, the appointee must then run in the next year election for him or her to stay on the bench.

Comparison between Texas and Washington State

In Texas State, a judge is removed from the court through various ways. The primary step is via the governor. The misconduct of a judge or incapacity can lead to impeachment or a bill. The senate and the house can the carry out a debate regarding the bill. The bill is then termed successful if t concurs with two thirds of the total votes. After the process, the governor then has a responsibility in facilitating the confiscation of such a judge. The Washington state removes judges from office through two methods. One method is whereby a judge is ejected from the office in a three quarter of a common resolution by the selected representative advocates for their confiscation. The second method incorporates a commission of judicial hearing which evaluates and analyzes the claims of legal incapacity. After the analysis and thorough evaluation, the commission sends a report to the Supreme Court and recommends the removal or suspension of the judge. The Supreme Court then makes the final judgment after viewing the report generated by the commission and attending to a hearing.

Comparison of the qualification to be a judge

Washington and Texas State have several differences and similarities in the requirement to be selected as a judge. T begin with, the applicant must be the states’ resident. The appointee should therefore be a permanent resident of the state and also be a citizen of the United States. Moreover the state requires the judges to hold a degree in law to acquire positions in any of the courts in the state. Nonetheless, both states do not restrict on the university where an individual acquires the law degree. It’s therefore not a necessity to have a degree from the schools within the states. In addition, both states require one to have a license allowing them to practice law.

Both states also require one to be practicing law actively. In this essence, the candidates must be practicing law in the United States. Also, the states have set a practicing limit of ten years for the court of appeal and the Supreme Court. To be a judge in the District court judge, one must have five years of experience in law practice. Both Texas and Washington have almost same age requirement. To become a judge in Texas, one should be between 34 to 74 years of experience. A judge in Washington must be however be between the 35 to 75 years of ages.

Justifying the selection process

Reasons why Texas has a better judicial system

I believe that Texas State has a better judicial process than Washington States. This is because Texas allows the residents to freely elect their judges who are in acquaintance with the local people needs. It also allows the representation of the different parties. The partisan elections lead to republican and Democratic judges leading to a fair court representation.

In conclusion, every state incorporates a unique and a different judicial selection process. The process incorporates a system where judges a selected in the different state. The process may be through nonpartisan elections, partisan elections or appointment by the governors. Each state also has its unique procedure of judges’ removal. From the comparison between Washington and Texas, I believe that Texas has a better judicial process, the major advantage being the election of judges by the citizens. This is because the right to elect their judges enables them to select judges who understand the needs of the citizens and hence be able to make more significant judgments.

References

Neubauer, D. W., & Meinhold, S. S. (2016). Judicial process: law, courts, and politics in the United States. Nelson Education.

State of Texas. ( 2019). Methods of Judicial Selection: Texas. National Center for State Courts. Retrieved from http://www.judicialselection.us/judicial_selection/methods/selection_of_judges.cfm?state=TX

Washington. (2019). Judicial Selection in the States. Retrieved from http://www.judicialselection.us/judicial_selection/index.cfm?state=WAwww.judicialselection.us/judicial_selection/index.cfm?state=WA