Qualification and Selection in Every Case, Both

Qualification and Selection

In every case, both New Jersey's and Texas' courts strive to achieve one thing: justice. To achieve justice, our courts must be independent, open and impartial. To selection and qualification process must therefore be very strenuous in order to elect the best candidates. Both New Jersey and Texas are no exception to this occurrence. In many instances the qualification process and selection process are very similar. In other aspects however, they diverge greatly. This document is designed to provide a brief overview of both the New Jersey and Texas qualification and selection processes.

Methods and Selection of New Jersey Judges

Supreme Court Justices, Superior Court Judges and Tax Court Judges

The New Jersey Constitution determines how people become Supreme Court justices or Superior Court or Tax Court judges. Under this process, the Governor nominates a person to be a justice or a judge. The Governor submits the nomination to the state Senate, which then votes whether to confirm the nominee for the position. If confirmed by the Senate, the nominee is sworn in for an initial term of seven years.

After seven years, justices and judges can be reappointed. Again, the Governor submits a nomination to the state Senate, which votes whether to confirm the nominee for reappointment.

Justices and judges who are reappointed have tenure, which allows them to remain in their posts until they reach the age of 70, when the New Jersey Constitution requires that they retire. The appointment process and tenure strengthen judicial independence. Municipal Court judges are appointed by the town's governing body. Terms are for three years. Municipal Court judges may be reappointed, but there is no tenure.

New Jersey's judiciary has two appellate courts -- the supreme court and the appellate division of the superior court, and three trial courts. The three trial courts are separated into the superior court, the tax court, and the municipal court. The superior court is the court of general jurisdiction. The governor, with the approval of the senate, chooses all judges in New Jersey. Judges stand for reappointment after seven years in office, and once reappointed, they serve until they reach the age of 70. This is very similar to the state of Texas. The major difference being that in Texas, the general public often elects judges depending primarily on their jurisdiction.

There are two interesting features of judicial selection in New Jersey. The first is the practice of senatorial courtesy. Like U.S. senators, New Jersey's senators have veto-like powers over judicial appointees from their home districts. As a professional courtesy, other senators will not proceed with confirmation of a judicial candidate unless the senators from the home district have signed off. Texas does not have this senatorial courtesy. Instead, senators will often proceed with the confirmation with the blessing of the home district senator. Until 1994, senators had been able to hold up judicial reappointments as well, but a widely criticized incident led the senate to change the rules of reappointments so that they are now considered by the senate judiciary committee without receiving the approval of the home senator (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 2013).

New Jersey's courts also have a tradition of political balance. Governors, regardless of their party affiliation, have generally followed a policy of replacing outgoing judges with someone of the same party or philosophy. On the Supreme Court, the traditional balance is three Democrats and three Republicans, with the chief justice belonging to the party of the appointing governor. This balance provides a bipartisan approach to both legislation and though processes. This balance approach, limits the possibility of having large party initiatives pushed through the legislative process without first having adequate oversight. The balanced approached is primarily useful during periods of political turmoil or upheaval. During these instances, there is a tendency for both legislation and citizenry to disproportionally blame one party relative to the other. Therefore, elected officials during these periods reflect not the skill and ability to enact proper legislation, but instead the general distaste for the other party. As such, a balanced approached helps to mitigate many of the irrational emotions in the market. Judicial nominating commissions are not used to screen judicial candidates in New Jersey.