For your paper, examine the methods of judicial selection in your home state. Relate whether the majority of judges are subject to a political appointment or whether they are elected by popular vote. (You will want to review the Supreme Courts decision in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002) which focused public attention on how certain jurisdictions select judges and discussed the role judges should perform once on the bench.)
Once you have completed your report about the manner of selection, consider the consequences in light of the experience of the members of the Supreme Court of the State of Iowa in the aftermath of their decision in Varnum v. Brien. Following the Iowa Courts decision to declare unconstitutional certain limits on the right to marry within the state, conservative and religious groups united in an all-out effort to remove the judges from the bench. Three Supreme Court justices were voted out in the popular election immediately following the decision.
Finally, after reviewing these materials, discuss whether judges should be elected or appointed. Substantiate your opinion with at least two outside research sources which support your arguments.
