rto Rico, 12 Circuit Courts of Appeal and one U.S. Supreme Court. Texas is in the 5th Circuit, along with Louisiana and Mississippi. Each district also has a bankruptcy court included in its jurisdiction. The Texas appellate system contains 14 districts. (courts.state.tx.us/appcourt.asp)All federal judges and justices are nominated by the President and are confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Once confirmed, federal judges and justices sit for life. They may only be removed from office by impeachment. Although theses justices are not required to have any special qualifications, they are usually very experienced private attorneys, prosecutors, state court judges, or professors of law. The salaries and benefits received by federal judges are set by Congress, and the salary of a federal judge is somewhat close to that of a Member of Congress (uscourts.gov, 12). Voters in their districts elect the Court of Appeal justices, who serve in districts that cover certain parts of the state. The term of office is 12 years, or less if a justice is replacing one who retired. In that case, the justice must run for confirmation in the next general election. At the end of that term, the voters at a general election must again confirm the justices, in order to begin a new term (courts.state.tx.us/txcrtoverview.asp). Federal court judge may retire at the age of 65, but many stay on in a part-time manner. These justices are known as senior judges and account for approximately 15 to 20 percent of the workload of the courts (uscourts.gov, 13). Supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention. The only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group.Generally speaking, the federal courts may hear cases involving the U.S. government, the Constitution or federal laws, or controversies between the states and the federal government...
