Subject: Re: [EL] states without, or with few, elected judges
From: Craig Holman
Date: 1/15/2011, 5:14 PM
To: "douglasrhess@gmail.com" <douglasrhess@gmail.com>, "election-law@mailman.lls.edu" <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>

Hello Doug:

There are many states that use an appointment process as the predominant method of selecting and retaining judges. The Center for Governmental Studies report, "The Price of Justice," lists these states (page 165). These states (assuming changes in law have not been made recently) include: Connecticut (appointment by the legislature -- LEG); Delaware (appointment by the governor -- GOV); Hawaii (GOV); Maine (GOV); Massachusetts (GOV); New Hampshire (GOV); New Jersey (GOV); Rhode Island (GOV); South Carolina (LEG): Vermont (GOV); and Virginia (LEG).

As with ambassadors -- and despite my highest respect and admiration for the new ambassador to the Czech Republic -- these appointed judges tend to be major campaign contributors/bundlers for the appointing authorities.



Craig Holman, Ph.D.
Government Affairs Lobbyist
Public Citizen
215 Pennsylvania Avenue NE
Washington, D.C. 20003
TEL: (202) 454-5182
CEL: (202) 905-7413
FAX: (202) 547-7392


-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Hess <douglasrhess@gmail.com>
To: election-law <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>
Sent: Sat, Jan 15, 2011 7:59 pm
Subject: [EL] states without, or with few, elected judges

I've always thought it very odd that some judges have to campaign for


office (much like it seems odd to give ambassadorships to large


donors). Are there states where no (or few) judges are elected by the


public?





For the term "elected" I would exclude any process where voters can


only remove a judge--as in the system in Iowa where voters can remove


state supreme court justices, but do not elect them. Rather, for this


question at least, I would reserve the term election to mean selection


by the voting public from among candidates for office (regardless of


the process being partisan or not).





I guess the term "judge" should also be defined as I assume there are


public offices out there that have the title judge in some states and


not in other. However,  I'll leave that open unless somebody has


advice on how that should be defined or qualified.





Thanks.





Doug Hess


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