ABSTRACT
One of the most heated debates in American politics today concerns the practice of electing judges to the state court bench, including vigorous disagreements about the various benefits and disadvantages of replacement schemes. In fact, according to the National Center for State Courts Gavel to Gavel website (www. ncsc.org/ gaveltogavel), almost 1,300 bills were introduced in state legislatures from 2008 through 2014 that would affect judicial selection in the states and an additional 550 bills that would modify the requisite qualifications of judges and their terms of office. Thus, it certainly is not a stretch to assert that the politics of judicial selection is a hot topic currently occupying a significant amount of state policymakers’ time and agenda space.
