ABSTRACT
In the United States, national and state courts have parallel systems established under the national constitution or individual state constitutions. Federal court judges are selected by Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. States have a variety of means to select and retain state court judges. Political and merit concerns are significant for judicial selection. Partisan politics at the national level have often stalled approval of presidential nominees. Among the states, reformers have advocated merit as the primary criterion for judicial selection. Campaign spending, especially from outside interests, has expanded rapidly in states where judges are selected or retained by partisan or nonpartisan elections.
