Judges Essay, Research Paper

Qualifications for judges of district-level courts include U.S. citizenship,

residence in the district for two years immediately before election or

appointment, and a license to practice law in Texas. As a guarantee of practical

legal experience, a district-level judge must have been a practicing lawyer, a

judge of a court of record, or both for at least four years prior to election. As in

the case of Texas judges in other state courts, a vacant judgeship (resulting from

death, resignation, retirement, removal, or the creation of a new court) is filled by

gubernatorial appointment with the advice and consent of the Senate. More tan

half of the judges in district-level courts initially reach the bench as a result of

appointment. Historically, having the political advantage of running as

incumbents, they retained their positions b winning subsequent elections. In

recent elections, however, incumbent Democratic judges have been defeated in

increasing numbers as party affiliation has become more important than

incumbency.

The Long Star State’s appellate courts consist of 14 courts of appeals, the

Court of Criminal Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Texas. Each of these

courts has three or more judges or justices, and all members are popularly

elected for terms of six years. Terms are staggered so that one-third of the

members are elected or re-elected every two years because it helps to ensure

hat at any given time, barring death, resignation, or removal form office, each

appellate court will have two or more judges with prior experience on that court.

Justices of courts of appeals, judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals, and

justices of the Supreme Court of Texas must be at least 35 years age and have

had ten years of experience as a practicing lawyer or ten years of combined

experience as a practicing lawyer and judge of a court of record. Decisions are

reached by majority vote of the judges assigned to the case after their

examination of the written record of the case; their review of written briefs, or

arguments, prepared by the parties’ attorneys; and their hearing of oral

argument by the attorneys.

My suggestions for reforming the method of selecting district court judges

and appellate court judges and justices in Texas is that the people who run for

judges don’t really have to have citizenship and the residence of the district.

Because I think is a person have other qualifications except citizenship, I don’t

really think that is fair. If that person’s qualifications are beyond great, but he or

she doesn’t have citizenship, he or she has to wait for 5 years to get it. We don’t

know anything after five years, may be after 5 years, he doesn’t have the same

passion for the judges five years ago. Another reforming is that the justices for

Supreme Court of Texas, the people don’t really have to be 35 years or older.

People who are 27 or 30 years old can be a great justices. I think the age

doesn’t really matter because if they can be a great justices as any age, why set

a limit on the age. Those are my suggestions for reforming the method of

selecting the judges for district court and appellate court and justices for

Supreme Court of Texas.