Creating the Best Appointment System for Judges

This issue paper discusses systems of judicial appointment, and particularly the role politics play in the process in the United States. The focus is on the appointing authority and the interaction between that authority and various actors, including judicial commissions, the senate, and the general population (i.e. via popular vote, as in Japan, or election, as in some American states). The paper considers issues related to both initial appointment, and reselection.