SOC 205

The selection for judges is a very important task that voters usually are tasked to do to appoint judges to the courts in their states. However, Virginia and South Carolina are the only remaining states that use Legislative election as the way of selecting judges. Legislative election is where the judges are elected to the position by peer vote, not from residents of the state. In Virginia, this includes the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Circuit court, and the District Court of Virginia. Virginia’s courts are the court of limited jurisdiction meaning that they handle cases that derive from power from issuing authority, such as the Constitution or state law. The selection process as mentioned previous is done by legislative election where peers of the judges are deciding who is going to be appointed. As outlined in Article VI in the Virginia Constitution, judges are elected by a majority vote of the general assembly which is combined of the House of Delegates and the senate (judicialselection.us). To serve as a judge in the state of Virginia there are a few qualifications that must be met prior to becoming eligible for selection. Firstly, for selection as chief justice or chief judge, the potential judge must be a legal resident of the Virginia otherwise they will not be considered for a position as judge in the courts. Secondly, the nominee must be a state bar member for at least 5 years and not be older than seventy years of age. Retirement is also mandatory for a sitting judge who turns seventy years of age while in office. If the judge turns seventy while sitting, they have twenty days post birthday to continue serving until they retire. In the District courts, the same rules apply for potential judges, they are selected by legislate election and will serve a term of six years. Their qualifications are the same