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Electing Judges At the State Level

Federal judges are appointed by the president and approved by congress, but states pick their judges in different ways. Some states chose their judges with partisan elections, some  have nonpartisan elections, others use legal experts to select a short list of qualified candidates, which the governor then choses one candidate and appoints them to the bench. (That judge later is voted on in a retention election.) Some of these methods bring in big campaign money which in some cases tarnish the legal system.

Click here to read more on buying judges in Mother Jones.