Three Methods for Choosing Judges At the federal level, judges are nominated by the President and then those nominees have to be approved by the Senate. The U. S. Constitution does not specify how states can choose their judges so different states use different methods. The three most common methods used by states are listed below:

Method 1: Direct elections - Candidates raise money and campaign to be a judge. The voters then elect one of the candidates.

Method 2: Appointment - In this method, state judges are appointed by the Governor. There is often no legislative approval required. A couple of states have the state legislature appoint judges, but usually it is the Governor.

Method 3: The Missouri Plan - This is a compromise between methods 1 and 2. In the Missouri Plan, the governor appoints judges, but the governor must make each appointment from a list of three candidates recommended by a judicial nominating commission. The commission is made up of a sitting judge, several legal experts, and some private citizens. Each judge named by the governor serves until the next election. The judge's name then appears on the ballot without opposition. The voters decide, in a yes-no vote, whether or not that judge should be kept in office. Should the voters reject a sitting judge, the process begins again.

Read the information above about the three methods most commonly used to select judges at the state level. Pick the method that you believe is the best. Write a paragraph persuading your fellow Ohioans that Ohio should start using this method. If you agree with how Ohio already chooses its judges, then persuade a different state to use our current method. Your essay needs to provide three (3) arguments supporting your method of choice, and you need to back these arguments up with supporting details. For example, you could use constitutional principles to back up your arguments.