Government; Judicial Selection Process

Assignment : The State Judicial Selection Process

Worth 200 points

Each state within the United States has its own unique judicial selection process within its own court system.

Using the Internet or databases, research the judicial selection process for different court systems from different states within the U.S. Court System.

Write a five to eight (5-8) page paper in which you:

Discuss the judicial selection process of your state (Texas). Include, at a minimum, the qualifications and steps that are taken in order to select judges for the different kinds of courts within your specific state.
Choose a second state (Virginia and/or Florida), and describe the qualifications and the selection process for judges within that state.
Compare and contrast for both states the qualifications necessary for a prospective candidate to become a judge. Next, identify the steps that the relevant persons / entities need to take in order to remove a judge from office for disciplinary reasons for each state.
Justify the selection process for the state that you believe has the best system in place. Justify the response.
Use at least three (3) quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia and other websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. (Make sure you site everything from your references, this professor is strict about that)
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Detail the history and organization of the levels of the American court system and the issue of jurisdictional boundaries.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in the criminal court and the judicial process in America.
Write clearly and concisely about the American court system using proper writing mechanics and APA style conventions.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Points: 200
Criteria	Fair 70-79% C	Proficient 80-89% B	Exemplary 90-100% A
1. Discuss the judicial selection process of your state. Include, at a minimum, the qualifications and steps that are taken in order to select judges for the different kinds of courts within your specific state. Weight: 25%	Partially discussed the judicial selection process of your state. Partially included, at a minimum, the qualifications and steps that are taken in order to select judges for the different kinds of courts within your specific state.	Satisfactorily discussed the judicial selection process of your state. Satisfactorily included, at a minimum, the qualifications and steps that are taken in order to select judges for the different kinds of courts within your specific state.	Thoroughly discussed the judicial selection process of your state. Thoroughly included, at a minimum, the qualifications and steps that are taken in order to select judges for the different kinds of courts within your specific state.
2. Choose a second state, and describe the qualifications and the selection process for judges within that state. Weight: 20%	Partially chose a second state, and partially described the qualifications and the selection process for judges within that state.	Satisfactorily chose a second state, and satisfactorily described the qualifications and the selection process for judges within that state.	Thoroughly chose a second state, and thoroughly described the qualifications and the selection process for judges within that state.
3. Compare and contrast for both states the qualifications necessary for a prospective candidate to become a judge. Next, identify the steps that the relevant persons / entities need to take in order to remove a judge from office for disciplinary reasons for each state. Weight: 20%	Partially compared and contrasted for both states the qualifications necessary for a prospective candidate to become a judge. Next, partially identified the steps that the relevant persons / entities need to take in order to remove a judge from office for disciplinary reasons for each state.	Satisfactorily compared and contrasted for both states the qualifications necessary for a prospective candidate to become a judge. Next, satisfactorily identified the steps that the relevant persons / entities need to take in order to remove a judge from office for disciplinary reasons for each state.	Thoroughly compared and contrasted for both states the qualifications necessary for a prospective candidate to become a judge. Next, thoroughly identified the steps that the relevant persons / entities need to take in order to remove a judge from office for disciplinary reasons for each state.
4. Justify the selection process for the state that you believe has the best system in place. Justify the response. Weight: 20%	Partially justified the selection process for the state that you believe has the best system in place. Insufficiently justified the response.	Satisfactorily justified the selection process for the state that you believe has the best system in place. Satisfactorily justified the response.	Thoroughly justified the selection process for the state that you believe has the best system in place. Thoroughly justified the response.
5. 3 references Weight: 5%	Does not meet the required number of references; some references poor quality choices.	Meets number of required references; all references high quality choices.	Exceeds number of required references; all references high quality choices.
6. Clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting requirements Weight: 10%	5-6 errors present	3-4 errors present	0-2 errors present