State judicial elections, 2018
| 2018 State Judicial Elections | |
|---|---|
2019 »
« 2017
| |
 | |
| Overview | |
| Supreme Courts Overview | |
| Appellate Courts Overview | |
| View judicial elections by state: | |
A total of 296 appellate court seats were up for election in 2018, including 68 supreme court seats and 228 intermediate appellate court seats. Ballotpedia provided coverage of supreme court and intermediate appellate court elections, as well as local trial court elections for judges within the 100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.
Most, though not all, of 2018's judicial elections were held on November 6, 2018.
The following are some major events that took place in 2018 supreme court elections.
North Carolina held its first partisan supreme court election since 2002. One seat was up for election in the state, and incumbent Barbara Jackson ran as a Republican. She was defeated by Anita Earls (D). Candidate Chris Anglin ran as a Republican after changing his registration from Democratic to Republican ahead of the filing deadline.
An incumbent supreme court chief justice lost in Alabama's Republican primary in June. Chief Justice Lyn Stuart was defeated by Tom Parker, an associate justice and ally of former Chief Justice Roy Moore (R). Stuart was named acting chief justice after Moore's suspension in 2016, and her defeat marked 23 years since the last time an Alabama Supreme Court chief justice completed their term.
West Virginia held nonpartisan special elections for two seats on its supreme court. The elections were triggered after Justices Menis Ketchum and Robin Davis resigned from office amid an investigation of the entire state supreme court stemming from the alleged misuse of state funds. Ten candidates filed for each open seat on the court, and Tim Armstead and Evan Jenkins won the two seats.
Click here for more information about state supreme court elections in 2018.
Click a state on the map below to view information on local judicial elections in that state. The states without elections were Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia.
How are judges selected?
Methods of judicial selection vary substantially across the United States.[1] Though each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they fill their state and local judiciaries, there are five main methods. Three methods are primarily election-based; two methods are primarily appointment-based.
Election-based methods
- Partisan elections: Judges are elected by voters, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
- Nonpartisan elections: Judges are elected by voters, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
- Legislative elections: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
Appointment-based methods
- Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, the state's legislative body must approve the governor's choice.
- Assisted appointment: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list. After serving an initial term, the judge must be confirmed by voters in a yes-no retention election to continue serving.[2] This method is also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan.
States may use more than one method across different levels of courts. For example, appellate court judges in New York are chosen by assisted appointment, but the state’s trial court judges are chosen in partisan elections. Some states may even select judges of the same court level differently depending on the population of an area or local opinion.[1][2]
What types of courts might appear on my ballot?
Depending on your state, judges from several different levels of courts may appear on the ballot.
Limited jurisdiction courts
Limited jurisdiction is a type of jurisdiction conferred on courts with legal authority restricted to specific subjects, cases, or persons. Examples of limited jurisdiction courts include family courts, traffic courts, probate courts, and military courts.[3] Forty-six states have clearly defined limited jurisdiction courts. Washington, D.C., and four states (California, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota) do not have such courts.[4]
General jurisdiction courts
General jurisdiction is a term used to describe courts that do not have limits on the type of cases they can hear. Cases typically originate in general jurisdiction courts, and their decisions can be appealed to intermediate appellate courts. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., have general jurisdiction courts. General jurisdiction courts are sometimes referred to as trial courts or district courts.
Intermediate appellate courts
Intermediate appellate courts, as their name suggests, serve as an intermediate step between the trial courts and the courts of last resort in a state. Their jurisdiction varies from state to state.
Forty-one states have at least one intermediate appellate court. Some states have more than one of these types of courts. For example, Alabama has one intermediate appellate court for civil matters and another for criminal matters. Pennsylvania's superior court and commonwealth court are both appellate courts but have different jurisdictions. Other states, such as Illinois and California, have multiple divisions of intermediate appellate courts with varying degrees of independence from each other. Intermediate appellate courts are sometimes called courts of appeal.
Different states use different judicial election methods. Judges may run in partisan elections, may run in nonpartisan elections, or may simply stand for retention elections.
The following states held elections for intermediate appellate court seats in 2018.
| 2018 State Judicial Elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2018 Elections | State | 2018 Elections |
| Alabama | 6 seats | Maryland | 3 seats |
| Arizona | 4 seats | Michigan | 11 seats |
| Arkansas | 2 seats | Minnesota | 6 seats |
| California | 50 seats | Mississippi | 5 seats |
| Colorado | 4 seats | Missouri | 4 seats |
| Florida | 17 seats | New Mexico | 6 seats |
| Georgia | 7 seats | North Carolina | 3 seats |
| Idaho | 2 seats | Ohio | 23 seats |
| Illinois | 5 seats | Oklahoma | 5 seats |
| Indiana | 1 seat | Oregon | 6 seats |
| Iowa | 3 seats | Texas | 45 seats |
| Kansas | 7 seats | Utah | 1 seat |
| Kentucky | 2 seats | Washington | 8 seats |
| Louisiana | 6 seats | Wisconsin | 2 seats |
In a partisan election, candidates may be nominated by political parties or declare their party affiliations upon filing to stand in the election. Primaries are typically held to narrow down the candidates to one per party before the general election. Some states hold primaries in which candidates of all parties compete with each other and the top vote-getters advance, regardless of party. In a nonpartisan election, some states require candidates to declare their party affiliations while some states prohibit them from doing so. If primaries are held, they do not narrow the candidates to one per party; instead, they typically narrow the candidates to two for each seat, regardless of party.
In a retention election, an incumbent judge does not face an opponent. A question is placed on the ballot asking whether each judge shall be retained for another term, and voters choose "yes" or "no." Judges must receive majority "yes" votes in order to remain in their seats.
To learn more about judicial selection methods, click here.
Courts of last resort
- See also: State supreme court elections, 2018
A state court of last resort is the highest judicial body within a jurisdiction's court system. It is a court with the highest appellate authority, meaning that its rulings are not subject to review by any other court in the state. A court of last resort is often, but not always, referred to as a supreme court.[5]
All 50 states and Washington, D.C., have at least one court of last resort. Oklahoma and Texas both have two courts of last resort, one for civil appeals and one for criminal appeals.
Different states use different judicial election methods. Judges may run in partisan elections, in nonpartisan elections, or may simply stand for retention elections.
The following states held elections for state supreme court seats in 2018.
| 2018 State Judicial Elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2018 Elections | State | 2018 Elections |
| Alabama | 5 seats | Missouri | 2 seats |
| Arizona | 2 seats | Montana | 2 seats |
| Arkansas | 1 seat | Nebraska | 1 seat |
| California | 2 seats | Nevada | 3 seats |
| Colorado | 1 seat | New Mexico | 1 seat |
| Florida | 1 seat | North Carolina | 1 seat |
| Georgia | 5 seats | North Dakota | 1 seat |
| Idaho | 1 seat | Ohio | 2 seats |
| Illinois | 1 seat | Oklahoma | 7 seats |
| Indiana | 1 seat | Oregon | 3 seats |
| Kentucky | 1 seat | South Dakota | 1 seat |
| Louisiana | 2 seats | Texas | 6 seats |
| Maryland | 1 seat | Utah | 1 seat |
| Michigan | 2 seats | Washington | 3 seats |
| Minnesota | 4 seats | West Virginia | 2 seats |
| Mississippi | 1 seat | Wisconsin | 1 seat |
In a partisan election, candidates may be nominated by political parties or declare their party affiliations upon filing to stand in the election. Primaries are typically held to narrow down the candidates to one per party before the general election; some states hold primaries in which candidates of all parties compete with each other and the top vote-getters advance, regardless of party. In a nonpartisan election, some states require candidates to declare their party affiliations while some states prohibit them from doing so. If primaries are held, they do not narrow the candidates to one per party; instead, they typically narrow the candidates to two for each seat, regardless of party.
In a retention election, an incumbent judge does not face an opponent. A question is placed on the ballot asking whether each judge shall be retained for another term, and voters choose "yes" or "no." Judges must receive majority "yes" votes in order to remain in their seats.
To learn more about judicial selection methods, click here.
The map below highlights selection methods in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 American Bar Association, "Judicial Selection: The Process of Choosing Judges," June 2008
- ↑ US Legal, "Limited Jurisdiction Law & Legal Definition," accessed December 17, 2015
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Limited Jurisdiction Courts—Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Action," accessed September 23, 2015
- ↑ U.S. Legal, "Court of last resort Definition," accessed August 25, 2013
| |||||||||||
| |||||||
