Essay Sample on State Court Systems: Judicial Selection Process & Qualifications

Introduction

In the United States of America, each State has its unique judicial selection process within the court systems. As such, the legal procedures also vary from court to court, depending on the State. The legal selection process in each State of the US has undergone tremendous change over the last decade. For example, a series of formal changes have been witnessed since the inception of South Carolina and the New York States. This paper shall delve into the detailed analysis of the qualifications and the process involved in the selection and removal of Judges in South Carolina and the New York States of the United States of America.

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Judicial Selection in New York

In New Yolk, for instance, which is my State, the legal system is composed of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Surrogate Court, the Appellate Division, and the Family Courts, the County courts as well as the Limited Jurisdiction courts (Klein, 2018). All these courts are functional across New York State. However, the Civil and the Criminal courts are only in operation within New York City. On the other hand, the civil courts and the criminal courts are operational even outside New York City (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017).

In New York, the judicial selection process involves partisan election where the judges are selected for the trial courts. This process begins with the competition of the candidates in a primary election where they identify the representative of various parties in the general election except for the candidates for the Supreme Court (Klein, 2018). The New York Judicial system chooses the Supreme Court candidates by the party convention mechanisms where primary voting is done to elect the convention delegates.

In the high court and the Court of Appeal, the judges are appointed based on merit where the application of various candidates are submitted to the Commission on Judicial nomination by the interested candidates. The commission on Judicial Nomination is a bipartisan body that is constituted of twelve members (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017). The commission then evaluates until they reach a minimum number of seven. The list comprising of the nominated candidates is then forwarded to the Governor, who is expected to choose from the provided candidates.

In New York, a person can get involved in the selection of the judges in various means. For instance, the best method to get engaged in the selection process is to get to research the candidate, meet such candidates may be at the local community forum or meeting then share the experience with the various candidates and vote (Klein, 2018). Most fundamentally, each candidate must be vetted by the judicial screening panel regardless of the proper selection method, which has been adopted. In New York State, many screening panels are essential for the endorsement of a particular candidate.

Assignment of Judges in New York

Upon the selection of a Judge in New York, either through appointment or election, he/she gets assigned to a court by the Chief Judge of the New York State. For instance, a judge who has been appointed to the New York City Civil Court in Manhattan may be assigned to a Family court say in the Bronx by the Chief Judge of New Yolk State.

Upon the selection, the candidate's name is forwarded to the New York Senate for approval. The basic fundamental requirements for one to join the court are that the person must be a citizen of New York and that he/she must have had more than ten years of judicial practice as well as a mandatory age of seventy.

Judicial Selection in South Carolina

In South Carolina, the choice of judges is made by the general assembly as well as the legislative council since the year 1776. However, in late 1865, both inferior and the superior court judges became elected only to a four-year term. It is important to note that currently, the selection of the court judges within the State of South Carolina is made through a legislative election. South Carolina is one of the only two states within the United States of America, where the selection of the judges is conducted through the general assembly (Klein, 2018). In Carolina State, there are nine appeals courts, five supreme courts, and 46 circuit court judges. The selection of the five judges of the Supreme Court, 46 judges of the circuit court as well as the nine judges of the court of appeal is also made similarly.

In South Carolina, for one to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, circuit, or the appellate courts, the judge must be a Citizen of the United States and must be a resident of the particular State for at least five years. Again, the candidate must have been licensed as an attorney for the last eight years and be between 32 and 72 of age. On the other hand, the selection of a judge in New York State involves the partisan elections even though the appellate court and different courts employ the assisted appointment method (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017).

The screening and selection of the candidates are done by the Carolina Judicial Merit Selection Commission, who then submits a list comprising of three names to the general assembly. The assembly then does voting on the list of the candidates. The General Assembly can either choose one candidate from the submitted list or reject the entire submission (Hester, 2017). In South Carolina, the Supreme Court Judges are supposed to serve for ten years upon which they are subject, upon their wish, to re-elections by the legislature. The method of selection of the judge and the chief justice vary across the supreme, circuit, and the appeals courts.

For instance, the selection of chief justice in the Supreme Court is conducted through a legislative election process similar to how the choice of other judges is made. The chief justice is then expected to serve in a particular capacity for ten years (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017). The selection of chief judge of the court of appeal is also made through legislative election; in which case, the chief judge is expected to serve in such a capacity for six years. Most importantly, the chief judge in the circuit court is appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The chief judge of the circuit court is expected to serve in such a capacity for only six months, after which the chief justice could appoint another judge or re-appoint the retired one.

The Judicial Merit Selection Commission begins with the screening of candidates, after which they recommend three candidates who are then forwarded for approval by the General Assembly. The Judicial Merit Selection Commission is composed of ten members, of which five are appointed by the speaker of the house (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017). Again, three of these members appointed by the speaker must be serving members of the General Assembly while the remaining two members selected from the general public. The other five members of the commission are those appointed by the chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Comparison and New York Between Judicial Selections in South Carolina

In South Carolina, for one to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, circuit, or the appellate courts, the judge must be a Citizen of the United States and must be a resident of the particular State for at least five years. Again, the candidate must have been licensed as an attorney for the last eight years and be between 32 and 72 of age. On the other hand, the selection of a judge in New York State involves the partisan elections even though the appellate court and different courts employ the assisted appointment method (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017).

Across the New York state, there are 324 Supreme Court judges and 60 appeals court judges. There are seven justices for the New York Court of Appeals who serve for a 14-year term. Such judges are typically appointed by the Governor based on the list provided by the judicial nominating commission awaiting the confirmation from the Senate of New York. Unlike in the South Carolina state, where age qualification to be appointed a judge is between 32 and 72 years, in the New York age limit for a judge is 70 years. However, in New York, a person must have at least ten years of in-state law experience as well as be a citizen of the State.

Based on qualifications and the judicial selection of a candidate to be a judge in both the State, I find that the State South Carolina has the best systems than the New York state. For instance, the system has a prolonged tenure in office for the judges, thus increasing the number of experienced judicial officers serving within the State. Furthermore, the restriction on citizenship is more favorable in South Carolina than in New York (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017). For instance, being a United States citizen, along with other requirements, makes one qualified to be appointed as a judge in South Carolina, unlike in New York, where one must be a citizen of the State to be qualified.

Again in South Carolina, the selection of chief justice in the Supreme Court is conducted through a legislative election process similar to how the variety of other judges is done. The chief justice is then expected to serve in a particular capacity for a period of ten years (Hester, 2017). However, in New York, the judges are appointed based on merit, where the application of various candidates is submitted to the commission on judicial nomination by the interested candidates. The commission on Judicial Nomination is a bipartisan body that is constituted of twelve members. The commission then evaluates until they reach a minimum number of seven. The list comprising of the nominated candidates is then forwarded to the Governor, who is expected to choose from the provided candidates (Gerhardt & Painter, 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, each State within the United States of America has its judicial selection process, which is unique from one state to the other. The qualifications and the method of selection determine which State has a better legal selection mechanism than the other. This paper has given a detailed examination, comparison, and contrast of the judicial selection process as experienced in South Carolina and the New York States.

References

Gerhardt, M. J., & Painter, R. W. (2017). Majority Rule and the Future of Judicial Selection. Wis. L. Rev., 263. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wlr2017&div=12&id=&page=

Hester, R. (2017). Judicial rotation as centripetal force: Sentencing in the court communities of South Carolina. Criminology, 55(1), 205-235. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-9125.12132

Klein, K. S. (2018). Weighing Democracy and Judicial Legitimacy in Judicial Selection. Tex. Rev. L. & Pol., 23, 269. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/trlp23&div=9&id=&page=