Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Oklahoma City University Law Review
Publication Date
2017
ISSN
0364-9458
Page Number
53
Keywords
judges, judicial selection, ideology, Missouri Plan
Disciplines
Judges | Law
Abstract
My topic is how best to select judges. As we all know, the method we use to select federal judges--including U.S. Supreme Court justices--has not changed since 1789: The President nominates, the Senate confirms, and the judges serve for life. But the states have experimented with a variety of different methods over the years. Some states have used something like the federal method.' Some states have elected their judges by popular vote. Some of those states have done so with party affiliation on the ballot, and some states have done so without it. Some states have selected judges through a small commission of judge pickers.' The question I would like to pose to you tonight is: Which method is best? I concede that this is a question we have been trying to answer for as long as we have had the United States.' The founding generation debated the question extensively when it drafted and ratified Article III of the U.S. Constitution, and we have been debating it in the states ever since.' Some people say we want a method that ensures "independent" judges.' Some people say we want a method that keeps judges "accountable."' Some people say we want a method that picks "competent" judges.' Some people say we want a method that finds judges with "integrity."" Some people say we want a method that will ensure judges have "legitimacy." Some people say we want a method that picks "diverse" judges.' I suspect many people would say we want "all of the above." My hope tonight is that I can add something new to the theory of what makes a selection method a good one.
Recommended Citation
Brian T. Fitzpatrick,
Judicial Selection and Ideology, 42 Oklahoma City University Law Review. 53
(2017)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/1614
