Table 5.1

State Courts of Last Resort

			Justices chosen (a)				Chief justice
FIPS	State or other jurisdiction	Name of court	At large	By district	No. of judges	Term (in years) (c)	Method of selection	Term of office for chief justice
01	Alabama	S.C.	✓		9	6	Partisan election	6 years
02	Alaska	S.C.	✓		5	10	By court	3 years
04	Arizona	S.C.	✓		7	6	By court	5 years
05	Arkansas	S.C.	✓		7	8	Non-partisan popular election	8 years
06	California	S.C.	✓		7	12	Gubernatorial appointment with consent of Commission on Judicial Appointments	12 years
08	Colorado	S.C.	✓		7	10	By court	10 years
09	Connecticut	S.C.	✓		7	8	Gubernatorial appointment with consent of the legislature	8 years
10	Delaware	S.C.	✓		5	12	Gubernatorial appointment from judicial nominating commission with consent of the legislature	12 years
12	Florida	S.C.	✓(d)	✓(d)	7	6	By court	2 years
13	Georgia	S.C.	✓		9	6	By court	6 years
15	Hawaii	S.C.	✓		5	10	Gubernatorial appointment from judicial nominating commission with consent of the senate	10 years
16	Idaho	S.C.	✓		5	6	By court	4 years
17	Illinois	S.C.	✓(e)	✓(e)	7	10	By court	3 years
18	Indiana	S.C.	✓		5	10	Judicial nominating commission	5 years
19	Iowa	S.C.	✓		7	8	By court	8 years
20	Kansas	S.C.	✓		7	6	By seniority of service	Duration of service
21	Kentucky	S.C.		✓	7	8	By court	4 years
22	Louisiana	S.C.		✓	7	10	By seniority of service	Duration of service
23	Maine	S.J.C.	✓		7	7	Appointed by governor with consent of the legislature	7 years
24	Maryland	C.A.		✓	7	10	Appointed by governor	To age 70
25	Massachusetts	S.J.C.	✓		7	To age 70	Gubernatorial appointment with approval of elected executive council	To age 70
26	Michigan	S.C.	✓		7	8	By court	2 years
27	Minnesota	S.C.	✓		7	6	Non-partisan popular election	6 years
28	Mississippi	S.C.		✓(g)	9	8	By seniority of service	Duration of service
29	Missouri	S.C.	✓		7	12	By court	2 years
30	Montana	S.C.	✓		7	8	Non-partisan popular election	8 years
31	Nebraska	S.C.	✓(h)	✓(h)	7	6	Gubernatorial appointment from judicial nominating commission	Duration of service
32	Nevada	S.C.	✓		7	6	Rotation by seniority	(i)
33	New Hampshire	S.C.	✓		5	To age 70	Gubernatorial appointment with approval of elected executive council	To age 70
34	New Jersey	S.C.	✓		5	7/To age 70 (j)	Gubernatorial appointment with consent of the senate	7 years, plus tenure, to age 70
35	New Mexico	S.C.	✓		5	8	By court	2 years
36	New York	C.A.	✓		7	14	Gubernatorial appointment from judicial nominating commission with consent of the senate	14 years
37	North Carolina	S.C.	✓		7	8	Partisan popular election	8 years
38	North Dakota	S.C.	✓		5	10	By Supreme and District Court judges	5 years
39	Ohio	S.C.	✓		7	6	Popular election (k)	6 years
40	Oklahoma	S.C.		✓	9	6	By court	2 years
40	Oklahoma	C.C.A.		✓	5	6	By court	2 years
41	Oregon	S.C.	✓		7	6	By court	6 years
42	Pennsylvania	S.C.	✓		7	10	Seniority	Duration of service
44	Rhode Island	S.C.	✓		5	Life	Gubernatorial appointment from judicial nominating commission with consent of the legislature	Hold office during good behavior
45	South Carolina	S.C.	✓		5	10	Legislative appointment	10 years
46	South Dakota	S.C.	✓(l)	✓(l)	5	8	By court	4 years
47	Tennessee	S.C.	✓		5	8	By court	4 years / 2 years (m)
48	Texas	S.C.	✓		9	6	Partisan election	6 years
48	Texas	C.C.A.	✓		9	6	Partisan election	6 years
49	Utah	S.C.	✓		5	10	By court	4 years
50	Vermont	S.C.	✓		5	6	Gubernatorial appointment from judicial nominating commission with consent of the legislature	6 years
51	Virginia	S.C.	✓		7	12	By court	4 years
53	Washington	S.C.	✓		9	6	By court	4 years
54	West Virginia	S.C.A.	✓		5	12	By court	4 years
55	Wisconsin	S.C.	✓		7	10	By court	2 years
56	Wyoming	S.C.	✓		5	8	By court	4 years
11	Dist. of Columbia	C.A.	✓		9	15	Judicial Nominating Commission appointment	4 years
72	Puerto Rico	S.C.	✓		9	To age 70	Gubernatorial appointment with consent of the legislature	To age 70

Source:

National Center for State Courts. July 1, 2022.

Key:

✓	—	Yes.
S.C.	—	Supreme Court.
S.C.A.	—	Supreme Court of Appeals.
S.J.C.	—	Supreme Judicial Court.
C.C.A.	—	Court of Criminal Appeals.

Footnotes:

(a)	See Table 5.6, entitled, “Selection and Retention of Appellate Court Judges,” for more detail.
(b)	Number includes chief justice.
(c)	The initial term may be shorter. See Table 5.6, entitled, “Selection and Retention of Appellate Court Judges,” for more detail.
(d)	Elected statewide, but each of five regional appellate districts entitled to at least one justice.
(e)	Three justices chosen from First District (Cook County), rest from other districts.
(g)	Three justices chosen from each of three districts.
(h)	Chief justice chosen statewide; associate judges chosen by district.
(i)	The senior justice in commission is the chief justice, and in case the commissions of two or more of the justices bear the same date, the justices shall determine by lot who is the chief justice.
(j)	All judges are subject to gubernatorial reappointment and consent by the Senate after an initial seven-year term; thereafter, they may serve until mandatory retirement age at 70.
(k)	Party affiliation is not included on the ballot in the general election, but candidates are chosen through partisan primary nominations.
(l)	Initially chosen by district; retention determined statewide.
(m)	Four years for initial term; two years for additional terms.