Documents from Judicial Selection Public Hearing 

The following documents relate to the second public hearing regarding judicial selection.

The Judicial Selection in the States website is a collection of information available on how the states select, retain, evaluate, and discipline judges. 

 

AJS Model Judicial Selection Provisions

This is a collection of "best practice" judicial selection provisions to create a merit selection system.

 

Judicial Selection in the States:  Appellate and General Jurisdiction Courts

This is a collection of charts detailing judicial selection processes in each state.

 

Summary of Initial Selection Methods

This is a chart of how judges are initially selected in each state.

 

Initial Selection:  Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction

This is a chart of initial selection methods for state trial courts.

 

Initial Selection:  Intermediate Appellate Courts

This is a chart of initial selection methods for intermediate appellate courts.

 

Initial Selection:  Courts of Last Resort

This is a chart of initial selection methods for state courts of last resort.

 

Judicial Merit Selection:  Current Status

This is a series of charts detailing the provisions that states use to structure the work of merit selection systems and nominating commissions.

 

Handbook for Judicial Nominating Commissioners
AJS conducts trainings for judicial nominating commissioners based upon this resource that details "best practices" in nominating commission procedures.

 

"How the Pickers Pick:  Finding a Set of Best Practices for Nominating Commissions"

by Rachel Paine Caufield, Fordham Urban Law Journal, January 2007.

West Virginia Public Opinion and Judicial Selection Reform, Mark Blankenship Enterprises

Presentation to the West Virginia Independent Commission on Judicial Reform, Chris W. Bonneau, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

North Carolina's Experience with Non-Partisan Elections, Damon Circosta, North Carolina Center for Voter Education

Civil Justice Committee Report, Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia

Some Thoughts on Issues Facing West Virginia Lawyers, West Virginia Association for Justice Annual Meeting Charleston, West Virginia, May 12, 2008, Thomas J. Hurney, Jr.