Table 5.1

State Courts of Last Resort

Data publication year: 2023 (showing) 2022

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FIPS	State or other jurisdiction	Name of court	Justices Chosen	No. of judges	Term (in years) (c)	Method of selection	Term of office for chief justice
01	Alabama	S.C.	AL	9	6	Partisan election	6 years
02	Alaska	S.C.	AL	5	10	By court	3 years
04	Arizona	S.C.	AL	7	6	By court	5 years
05	Arkansas	S.C.	AL	7	8	Non-partisan popular election	8 years
06	California	S.C.	AL	7	12	Gubernatorial appointment with consent of Commission on Judicial Appointments	12 years
08	Colorado	S.C.	AL	7	10	By court	10 years
09	Connecticut	S.C.	AL	7	8	Gubernatorial appointment with consent of the legislature	8 years
10	Delaware	S.C.	AL	5	12	Gubernatorial appointment from judicial nominating commission with consent of the legislature	12 years
11	Dist. of Columbia	C.A.	AL	9	15	Judicial Nominating Commission appointment	4 years
12	Florida	S.C.	AL, D (d)	7	6	By court	2 years

Showing 1 to 10 of 52 entries

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Source:

National Center for State Courts, July 1, 2024.

Key:

S.C.	—	Supreme Court.
S.C.A.	—	Supreme Court of Appeals.
S.J.C.	—	Supreme Judicial Court.
C.A.	—	Court of Appeals.
C.C.A.	—	Court of Criminal Appeals.
AL	—	At Large.
District	—	By District.

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 5 regional appellate districts entitled to at least 1 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 at age 70.
(k)	Initially chosen by district; retention determined statewide.
(l)	4 years for initial term; 2 years for additional terms.