Running Head: JUDICIAL SELECTION IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS

JUDICIAL SELECTION IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS

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Judicial Selection Process in the State of Arkansas

The court types include Supreme Court, Court of appeals, Circuit Courts and District

Courts. There are similar requirements like a judge must be a US citizen and state resident for 2

years, of good morals and learned in the law. An Arkansas Bar for the 1995 legislative was to

adopt nonpartisan elections on all judicial selections (Averill Jr, 1994, p. 321) in which the

ballots don’t indicate their political affiliations.

Supreme Court

There consist of not more than 5 justices selected to an 8-year term (Averill Jr, 1994, p.

327) by voters the same period as primary elections for other state officials. To win a candidate

must receive 50% of the votes. If no candidate garners that amount, the top two candidates

compete in a runoff during the general election. Candidates are required to be of 30 years or

above and have practiced law for at least 8 years (Averill Jr, 1994, p. 329). Chief Justice is

selected among the justices by themselves (Averill Jr, 1994, p. 328).

Court of Appeals

The judges selected in the same period and steps as Supreme Court justices. Their

qualifications are identical to those of the justices. Chief Judge is appointed by the Chief Justice

and serves for 4 years.

Circuit Courts

Their selection process is similar to Supreme Court. The selected judges serve for 6

years. To serve a judge must be at least 28 years old and at least 6 years of practicing the law.

The Chief Judge of each court is chosen through Supreme Court’s appointment and serves for an

indefinite period.
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District Courts

Judges are elected to a 6 year term (Averill Jr, 1994, p. 329). To serve to this court a

judge must be at least 26 years old, registered voter in the district and practiced law for at least 3

years.
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References

Averill Jr, L. H. (1994). Observations on the Wyoming experience

with merit selection of judges: A model for Arkansas.

UALR LJ, 17, 281.