How to Become a County Judge

The first thing that you are going to need to accomplish in order to have a shot at becoming a county judge is to earn your law degree. No matter what kind of state you live in, all judges need to hold a law degree. This ensures that they have the advanced knowledge they need to make rulings on legal procedures and to have a thorough understanding of the precedents that have been set as well as of the ones that they themselves might be setting. Remember that you are going to need to pass the bar exam of the state that you hope to practice in; this will be something that you need to consider if you have practiced elsewhere. Residency is also an important factor for you to consider.

When you are ready to become a county judge, make sure that you establish residency in the county that you are working well ahead of the time that has been set by your state election board. There are different requirements for every state in the country, and at the end of the day, you will find that you are going to need to know your requirements inside and out. One rule of thumb that you are going to need to think about is that if you are a lawyer who is interested in settling down in a specific county that you should have about 24 months' worth of residency before your candidate registration.


Remember that when you are dealing with becoming a county judge that you are going to be in a position where people elect you. To build up their trust and their faith in you, you are going to need to take a step back and to look into what positions in the city courts that you can use to impress voters later on. One thing that is quite important for you to do, especially if you are a younger lawyer, is to spend some time doing work as a public defender and then as a local justice of the peace. The more you can familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the county that you are working in, the better off you are going to be.

There are many different roads that you can actually take to the seat of a county judge. For instance, members of law enforcement can achieve law degrees through working at night can bring a great deal of unique perspective to the legal proceedings of our country. While this is a long path that has no necessary guarantee of success, you'll find that this might be a position that can teach you a lot about the workings of legal world around you.

There are many things to think about when you are looking at running for county judge. Make sure that you file with the state elections well in advance of the deadlines for nonpartisan local elections; if necessary, get the signatures that you need from the county residents before you step up. You may also need to prepare financial reports on the spending that your campaign has done.

Take some time and really consider whether the life of county judge is something that you are going to pursue. This can make all the difference in the world when you are looking to get the results that you are after in life.