How do you become a judge? Forum

glitched · Post by **glitched** » Fri May 06, 2011 12:26 am

Well... how do you?

prezidentv8 · Post by **prezidentv8** » Fri May 06, 2011 12:45 am

1. Get law degree.
2. Get sweet robe.
3. ?????
4. PROFIT!

A'nold · Post by **A'nold** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:25 am

prezidentv8 wrote:1. Get law degree.
2. Get sweet robe.
3. ?????
4. PROFIT!

2.5- get fat.

mfeller2 · Post by **mfeller2** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:34 am

Get through law school first. And start like "knowing" people. That'll help.

fanmingrui · Post by **fanmingrui** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:36 am

mfeller2 wrote:Get through law school first. And start like "knowing" people. That'll help.

In the biblical sense?

NVResident · Post by **NVResident** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:46 am

This depends on what kind of a judge you're talking about.

With regards to state and municipal judges laws vary greatly. Some states like NV (my state) have a straight election process with the only legal qualification being that you are admitted to the bar. It has not been unusual in Vegas for very young and inexperienced lawyers to end up being elected to a judgeship due strictly to name recognition. Other states use an appointment process that somewhat mirrors the federal process. In these states candidates are usually vetted by the state bar for experience and qualifications. Finally, several state have a mixed system where judges are appointed but then have to stand for election.

With regards to federal judges, these are nominated by the president and confirmed by congress. For the lower level courts, the president usually solicits input from senior members of the congressional delegation of the state in question before making a nomination. Candidates are usually vetted by a committee of the ABA for experience and qualifications, however neither the president nor congress are bound by any objective standards.

Generally speaking, people who are considered good candidates for judgeships will have extensive experience in a variety of specialties, will have spent some time as a clerk (preferably at the same level as the judgeship they are seeking), have published some scholarship on important areas of the law, and be highly respected by their peers. Of course the more political the process of selection, the less importance these factors have in relation to political connections and savvy.

mfeller2 · Post by **mfeller2** » Fri May 06, 2011 1:47 am

U

mfeller2 wrote:Get through law school first. And start like "knowing" people. That'll help.

Yes. But most judgeships, atleast local ones are pretty much for people who are well liked by the community and have powerful friends. Judgeships are political... federal judgeships are political and you need to be very smart and well respected in the. Legal community.

twopoodles · Post by **twopoodles** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:13 pm

About half the judges in our state came from the prosecutors office, but I believe this is largely due to the political connections you can make while working there.

patrickd139 · Post by **patrickd139** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:22 pm

fanmingrui wrote:
mfeller2 wrote:Get through law school first. And start like "knowing" people. That'll help.
In the biblical sense?

Underrated.

Also, political connections. Even more so if it's an appointed position.

Big Shrimpin · Post by **Big Shrimpin** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:26 pm

Magic.

Julio_El_Chavo · Post by **Julio_El_Chavo** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:29 pm

mfeller2 wrote:U
mfeller2 wrote:Get through law school first. And start like "knowing" people. That'll help.
Yes. But most judgeships, atleast local ones are pretty much for people who are well liked by the community and have powerful friends. Judgeships are political... federal judgeships are political and you need to be very smart and well respected in the. Legal community.

there are a lot of federal judges who are very prestigious, however

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:46 pm

For Article III positions, nominations come mainly from Senators, so being involved with one of the two political parties is practically necessary. Magistrate judges are selected by committees; you apply and then go through a series of interviews. For state and local judges it varies, some are elected, others are appointed. But they are no less politicized than at the federal level, so you still need to be politically active.

FantasticMrFox · Post by **FantasticMrFox** » Sat May 07, 2011 8:55 pm

Big Shrimpin wrote:Magic.

graduate hogwarts law

Blindmelon · Post by **Blindmelon** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:01 pm

If federal - Yale/Harvard -> work experience that entails scratching a lot of important people's backs -> DOJ political appointee -> nomination.
Mag - Yale/Harvard -> fed defender/AUSA/prominent big firm lawyer, build reputation -> appointment by committee.

Julio_El_Chavo · Post by **Julio_El_Chavo** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:14 pm

Blindmelon wrote:If federal - Yale/Harvard -> work experience that entails scratching a lot of important people's backs -> DOJ political appointee -> nomination.
Mag - Yale/Harvard -> fed defender/AUSA/prominent big firm lawyer, build reputation -> appointment by committee.

The overwhelming, vast majority of federal judges didn't go to Yale or Harvard. HTH

koalatriste · Post by **koalatriste** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:38 pm

Blindmelon wrote:If federal - Yale/Harvard -> work experience that entails scratching a lot of important people's backs -> DOJ political appointee -> nomination.
Mag - Yale/Harvard -> fed defender/AUSA/prominent big firm lawyer, build reputation -> appointment by committee.

are you joking?

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:41 pm

Just don't want this to be connected to me in real life so posting anonymous. I started attending a small church, and one of the older guys asked me about myself. So I gave him the yada, yada, yada, and I'm in law school. After he let me go on, and on, he was like "Cool, I recently retired from being a federal judge and was appointed under Clinton, and oh yeah, when I feel like it I teach a class over at the local T14 law school..." Guess it's a small world. This person didn't go to a T14 but did go to a really good law school.

shoeshine · Post by **shoeshine** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:48 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Just don't want this to be connected to me in real life so posting anonymous. I started attending a small church, and one of the older guys asked me about myself. So I gave him the yada, yada, yada, and I'm in law school. After he let me go on, and on, he was like "Cool, I recently retired from being a federal judge and was appointed under Clinton, and oh yeah, when I feel like it I teach a class over at the local T14 law school..." Guess it's a small world. This person didn't go to a T14 but did go to a really good law school.

I would never retire if I was a federal judge. I would die while in office. It is too sweet of a position to ever give up.

Also, which law school did he teach at?

UCLAtransfer · Post by **UCLAtransfer** » Sat May 07, 2011 9:50 pm

Julio_El_Chavo wrote:
Blindmelon wrote:If federal - Yale/Harvard -> work experience that entails scratching a lot of important people's backs -> DOJ political appointee -> nomination.
Mag - Yale/Harvard -> fed defender/AUSA/prominent big firm lawyer, build reputation -> appointment by committee.
The overwhelming, vast majority of federal judges didn't go to Yale or Harvard. HTH

Truth. It seems like a lot of dist. ct. judges come from the most highly regarded schools in their geographic area, COA judges seem to bring in a mix of regional and more HYS types, and then SCOTUS is obviously basically HY.

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Sat May 07, 2011 10:08 pm

Blindmelon wrote:If federal - Yale/Harvard -> work experience that entails scratching a lot of important people's backs -> DOJ political appointee -> nomination.
Mag - Yale/Harvard -> fed defender/AUSA/prominent big firm lawyer, build reputation -> appointment by committee.

That's not true. Most Senators didn't go to Yale/Harvard, and they won't care if you did either; they will care about what you've done for them and your Democratic/Republican credentials. There's obviously a minimum level of credentials you need to have (the better your credentials, the better you'll look to everyone involved in the nomination and confirmation process), bur that's it. It's true that the most prominent court of appeals judges (especially the feeders) tend to have super strong credentials, but many do not.

HWS08 · Post by **HWS08** » Sat May 07, 2011 10:17 pm

Political connections or in some states, like NY, some of the judgeships are elected positions.

I worked for a candidate for a state legislative body who was well connected in his party. He lost his race, but got appointed to the bench in one of the state courts as sort of a "thank you for running."

3ThrowAway99 · Post by **3ThrowAway99** » Sat May 07, 2011 10:32 pm

For Federal Magistrate and District Judges the path I have seen is 1) Assistant U.S. Attorney (primarily practicing initially and then managing) --> 2) selection or appointment. Usually you can't get a AUSA position right out of school though.

A'nold · Post by **A'nold** » Sat May 07, 2011 11:51 pm

Too bad it's all political.

stranger198209 · Post by **stranger198209** » Sun May 08, 2011 5:34 am

saw great difference about it between china and US.

I am working in a court in China.

maybe I will become a judege in two or three years.

judical qulification is first point for this, and you have to pass the national civil servant exam.

after a period of experience in the court, it is not as difficult as you think to become a judge.

ArmyVet07 · Post by **ArmyVet07** » Sun May 08, 2011 7:47 am

Administrative Law Judges are selected by examination.

http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/alj/alj.asp

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