Research Summary
Methods of Judicial Selection, qualifications, and terms of office: California
The number of judges in Supreme Court is 7, 102 for Court of Appeals, and 1535 for Superior Court. On the number of Circuits/Districts, for Supreme Court is none, 6 for Court of Appeals, and 58 for Superior Court. The geographic basis for selection in Supreme Court is statewide, district for Court of Appeals, and county for Superior Court. On a full term method of selection, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals follows gubernatorial appointment and then confirmation by commission on judicial appointments. This also applies in the method of filling interim vacancies. For the Superior Court, it is a nonpartisan election while gubernatorial appointment is done for method of filling interim vacancies. The length of term in office is 12 years for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and 6 years for Superior Court. The same case applies to the length of subsequent terms. For the Chief Justice, the years in Supreme Court and Court of Appeals 12 while for Superior Court is 1 or 2 years depending on the county. The retention elections are held for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals while reelection is done for Superior Court in retention method. The qualifications for all courts include 10 years experience of law in a service or state as a judge of court of record (American Judicature Society, 2013).
Methods of Judicial Selection, terms of office, and qualification: Florida
The number of judges in Supreme Court is 7, 60 for District Courts of Appeal, and 597 for Circuit Court. On the number of Circuits/Districts, for Supreme Court is none, 5 for District Courts of Appeal, and 20 for Circuit Court. The geographic basis for selection in Supreme Court is statewide, district for District Courts of Appeal, and circuit for Circuit Court. On a full term method of selection, the Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal follow gubernatorial appointment and then confirmation by commission on judicial appointments. For the Circuit Court, it is a nonpartisan election. For method of filling interim vacancies, gubernatorial appointment from nominating commission is done in all courts. The length of term in office is at least1 year for Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal, and 6 years for Circuit Court. The case for subsequent terms is 6 years for all courts. The chief judge is appointed through peer vote in all courts while Justice the years in office is 2 for all courts. The retention elections are held for Supreme Court and Court of Appeals while reelection is done for Superior Court in retention method. The qualifications for Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal are state resident, qualified elector, compulsory retirement age of 70, and 10 years practice of law state or service. For Circuit Court, the qualifications apply apart form the practice of law state, which is 5 years instead of 10 years (American Judicature Society, 2013).
References
American Judicature Society. (2013, January 1). Judicial Selection in the States - Methods of Judicial Selection - California. Judicial Selection in the States. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from http://www.judicialselection.com/judicial_selection/methods/selection_of_judges.cfm?state=CA
American Judicature Society. (2013, January 1). Judicial Selection in the States - Methods of Judicial Selection - California. Judicial Selection in the States. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from http://www.judicialselection.com/judicial_selection/methods/selection_of_judges.cfm?state=FL
