State Supreme Courts
1) What different methods do states use to select judges to their State Supreme Courts? What is meant by the Missouri Plan?
California
2) How does California select judges for the state Superior, Appeals and Supreme courts? What is meant by a yes/no “retention election”? What are the benefits and drawbacks of these retention elections?
Critical Thinking
3) What are the pros and cons of the different methods of selecting justices?
What method do you think works best (and what is your criteria for making that judgment)? Does the Missouri Plan, and allowing for voter preference in the retention of judges, sufficiently limit the influence of politics and money?
Include a bibliography of the Geer and Field texts at the end and, in the paper, cite the pages from which you are drawing your evidence. (Don’t use footnotes; instead use a parenthetical reference (e.g., Geer, 40 or Field, 60). You should only cite “power points” or “lecture” for information not contained in the text. In those instances indicate PowerPoint or Lecture and the chapter (e.g.,
“PowerPoint, Geer, Chapter 3” or “PowerPoint, Field, California”) and slide number if available. Do not use any outside sources.
