What does a appellate judge or justice do?

What this office controls

• Decides appeals from trial courts, correcting legal error.
• Interprets the state constitution and state statutes, binding all lower courts.
• Can strike down state laws as unconstitutional.
• In many states, reviews redistricting maps and election disputes.

What it can’t do

Just as important, and the source of most misplaced expectations about the job:

• Does not hold trials, hear witnesses, or find facts.
• Generally cannot choose which questions come to it — cases arrive on appeal.
• Bound by the U.S. Constitution and federal law as interpreted by federal courts.

Why this race matters

State supreme courts are the final word on state constitutional questions, which increasingly decide redistricting, abortion access, school funding, and election procedure. Voters routinely leave these contests blank, so they are decided by a small, self-selected fraction of the electorate.

What to look for in a candidate

• Prior judicial service and the courts they served on.
• Legal practice background — prosecution, defense, civil, appellate.
• Written opinions and how they reason, rather than outcomes alone.
• Stated judicial philosophy on statutory and constitutional interpretation.
• Bar association evaluations and any documented disciplinary history.