What is the process of becoming a Judge?

Question

Starting with high school, what are the steps to become a Judge?

Answer 1

The process for becoming a judge is different depending on your state and sometimes even your county.  Many states/counties want you to have a given number of years of experience practicing law (which they usually base on the year that you joined the bar, and for example in California it's ten years to become a superior court judge), and you also will need to be able to pass a pretty stringent background check.  In some states, potential judges are nominated by their bar associations and appointed by the governor, in others, judges actually run for election, in others, judges are nominated by the governor, then in the next election voters get to 'approve' of the nomination by receiving a ballot that says, "R was appointed for the 20th judgeship in X area, do you approve?" and voters vote 'yes' or 'no', so it's like you're elected, but you're not actually running against anyone else.  

If you're in high school now, the important thing is to focus on your grades and on getting into the highest ranked university possible (see www.usnews.com for rankings), then on getting good grades there so that you can get into a high ranking law school, as bar associations are relatively snooty groups that will care about your educational pedigree.  When you're in undergrad, look for a local chapter of Phi Alpha Delta--they're a national pre-law honor society, and most chapters will have all kinds of great information for you on the legal profession.  Your university will probably also have a pre-law advisor who can be helpful, and with the summer coming up if you can make some free time, you could probably call up your local county/municipal courthouse and ask if you could do some volunteering, which usually entails filing cases and doing some grunt work, but you could get an idea of what happens at a court, which can be fascinating.

So, the most important things for you to do right now are to study hard and to stay out of trouble.  Get into a good university and do the same so that you can do well in law school, then work hard and do some networking so that you can get yourself appointed or elected.  Good luck!