I know that city and state judges are elected, while Supreme Court Justices are appointed?
So, how do Circuit Court Judges get their jobs? I’ve been searching, but haven’t been able to find a good concise explanation.
Here in The Majikal Land O’Cheeze "Drunkest Place on Earth" (registered trademark) Circuit Court Judges are elected. Their term is for 6 years. I know not how circuit court judges in any of the Cheeseless 49 get their jobs.
It depends on what you mean by “circuit court.” In the federal system, a circuit court means the intermediate appellate court, one level below the Supreme Court of the United States, named the United States Court of Appeals for the __________ Circuit. All federal judges of courts of record–that is, the district courts, the circuit courts of appeals, the Supreme Court, and various specialized tribunals–are appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (The procedure is usually different for administrative law judges, bankruptcy judges, and certain other quasi-judicial officers.)
But at the state level, a “circuit court” can mean different things in different states. For example, in Florida, the “circuit court” is the trial court, and the intermediate appellate court is called the “district court of appeal” (just the opposite of the federal system). If you are asking about a state circuit court, it depends on what state’s system you are asking about.
Just to expand a bit on what brianmelendez said, all of the judges of the federal courts established under Article III of the Constitution are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Article III courts are the United States Supreme Court, the federal Circuit Courts (intermediate appellate courts), the federal District Courts (trial courts), and the United States Court of International Trade (jurisdiction over customs cases and related matters). Judges of these courts are all appointed and confirmed under the same procedures as Supreme Court judges, but usually with less publicity (but see, for example, the current contraversy over the Estrada nomination). All Article III judges are appointed for life and only may be removed by impeachment.
Other federal judicial officers have been authorized by Congress under Article I of the Constitution and are appointed under procedures set out in the authorizing legislation. Article I judges do not have life tenure and have only limited authority. Article I judges include U.S. Magistrate Judges, U.S. Bankruptcy Judges, judges of the U.S. Court of Claims, judges of the Tax Court, and judges of the Court of Military Appeals and Courts of Appeals for each of the armed forces.
further amplification – if by “Circuit Court” the OP did not mean judges of the intermediate federal appeals courts, but rather some court in a particular state, then as brian noted, the procedure depends on state law. In many states judges are elected, in others they are appointed by the governor (typically with a role for the state legislature similar to that played by the Senate in federal appointments). In some states, trial judges might be elected while appeals court or state supreme court judges are appointed. And some states don’t have appeals courts other than their supreme court. So to find the answer to the question, you need to know what kind of circuit judge you’re talking about – a federal appeals judge, or a state judge and, if so, from which state and at what level.
–Cliffy