The State Judicial Selection Process Pennsylvania

Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts

The Judiciary of Pennsylvania consists of a supreme court, superior court, commonwealth court, court of common pleas and minor courts. The commonwealth, superior and supreme courts are appellate courts responsible for hearing and reviewing the appeals of cases that have already been heard at lower level courts, with Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court being the highest court level for appeals to go to.

Selection process. When it comes to selecting judges for the different Pennsylvanian courts, there are numerous spots to fill: there are seven justices of the state’s supreme court, 15 judges on the superior court, nine judges on the commonwealth court, and 439 judges in the court of common pleas. All of them are selected in the same manner: they run in partisan primaries which are then followed by a general election process, in which the winners of the partisan primaries compete. All elected judges serve terms of 10 years, and at the end of their term, the retention vote takes place if the judge wishes to continue to serve (Judicial Selection in Pennsylvania, 2018).

Retention process. The way in which judges are retained is different in Pennsylvania than in most states—that is because Pennsylvania operates a “yes-no retention election” process for judges who “wish to continue serving” (Judicial Selection in Pennsylvania, 2018). The retention election process is a “periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. The judge, who does not face an opponent, is removed from the position if a percentage of voters (often 50 percent) indicate that he or she should not be retained” (Retention Election, 2018). The retention process is used for judges have been elected in the state and the purpose of this process is to take the political pressure of having to run for office every election cycle off of judges and allow them to focus on doing their jobs (Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, 2018).

Qualifications. Qualifications that judges must meet in the state of Pennsylvania include: 1) being a member of the Bar of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (mandatory except for magisterial district judges) (The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, 2018); 2) judges must adhere to the Code of Judicial Conduct in the Pennsylvania Rules of Court, the “Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of Magisterial District Judges,” and other court rules and orders set by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, as well as standards identified in the Pennsylvania Constitution. Failure to abide by these rules, regulations and standards...

Other qualifications to serve as a judge in Pennsylvania are that the judge must have lived in a state residence for at least one year prior to running (and must have lived within the district for at least one year if running for common pleas court), and must be under the age of 70 (75 is the retirement age for judges in Pennsylvania) (Judicial Selection in Pennsylvania, 2018).
Limited Jurisdiction Courts

Limited jurisdiction courts (magisterial districts and municipal court) are a little different in the fact that these judges only serve six year terms and are not subject to retention elections following the conclusion of their term. Instead, they must face re-election again. The election process is the same as will all other judges in the state—partisan elections consisting of primaries followed by a general election take place for the selection of the judge. Vacancies are filled by the governor. Qualifications for judges of limited jurisdiction courts include: being a local resident for at least one year, being a member of the state bar, being older than 21, and being under the age of 75 (Judicial Selection in Pennsylvania, 2018).

South Dakota

In South Dakota, the process of selecting judges is somewhat different. In this state, the selection of state court judges is conducted via a hybrid process consisting of both appointments and elections. However, at every level of South Dakota’s judicial system, the process is different—from the supreme court level to the circuit and magistrate courts.

Supreme Court

Selection process. At the supreme court level in South Dakota, the five justices who preside over this court are selected (i.e., appointed) by the governor, who picks from a list that is given him by the South Dakota Judicial Qualifications Commission. The list must consist of at least two names so that the governor actually has a choice in the selection. Judges who are appointed to the supreme court of the state serve an initial three year term, and then, as in Pennsylvania, they run in a yes-no retention election during the next general election. Following that, the term of these justices lasts for eight years at a stretch (Judicial Selection in South Dakota, 2018).

Qualifications. Qualifications required to serve as a justice on South Dakota’s Supreme Court consist of: being a United States citizen and resident of the state; having acted as a voting resident with the respective district; licensed to practice law in the state, and being under eth age of 70. It is state law that no justice on the supreme court…