First Name:
Dalton
Last Name:
Miller
Major Department:
Political Science and Criminal Justice
Thesis Director:
Marian Williams
Date of Thesis:
May 2013
Although many courts in America are concerned simply with determinations of fact, certain courts and their judges have the authority to make and change law or even declare laws as unconstitutional. An institution that controls so much power and has great influence over the lives of the American people, it is important to understand and evaluate how these judges are selected. Currently, there are five methods of judicial selection—executive appointment, legislative appointment, partisan election, non-partisan election, and merit selection. An analysis of these methods as they are used in the federal system, the state systems, and the international context lends great insight to each methods strengths and weaknesses with the ultimate goal of evaluating the method best suited to balance judicial independence with accountability.