An Historical Perspective on Judicial Selection Methods in Virginia and West Virginia

Alex Long, University of Tennessee College of Law

Abstract

This Article explores the history of judicial selection methods in Virginia and West Virginia - two states, once joined, with distinct cultures and very different judicial selection methods. In an attempt to explain how the two states ended up with such different systems, the Article focuses on the constitutional conventions in those states between 1829 and 1902 and the debates that took place on the subject of popular election of judges versus an appointive system.