Who appoints federal judges?

Federal judges are nominated by the President of the United States. They have to be approved by both senators of the state in which they reside. It’s very, very political, and oftentimes people who have been outspoken on good causes or bad causes don’t get approved. So you find that in the federal Judiciary, you very often get lawyers appointed who have really not taken strong stands on important issues of the day. It’s very, very unfortunate. These federal judges are appointed for life, they’re called the article three judges, and whether they are federal judges at the trial level, called the United States District Judges or at the appellate level, called Federal Appeal Judges or the United States Supreme Court, they’re called Justices. They serve for life. So it’s critical, and I always tell my friends, regardless of your politics, when it comes to presidential elections, it’s all about the United States Supreme Court.

By Jeffrey S. Weiner, P.A.