B. Qualifications

All federal Judges must meet specific qualifications before taking office. These qualifications must be satisfied at the time of nomination and maintained throughout the Judge’s term.

A candidate or nominee must:

• Be licensed and in good standing with the Federal Licensing Authority,

• Not have been disbarred or barred from holding federal office,

• Not have been convicted of a felony, or

• Not have been removed from judicial office for cause, or found guilty of fraud, corruption, or abuse of power.

Minimum experience requirements:

• District Court Judges: At least five (5) years of legal experience.

• Provincial Court Judges: At least eleven (11) years of combined federal-level experience in legal practice, service as a District Court Judge, or full-time faculty employment at a U.S.-accredited law school. Legal academics must also demonstrate sustained engagement with the federal courts, including authorship of amicus curiae briefs in constitutional or appellate matters.

• Circuit Court Judges: Must have completed a full term of service on a Provincial Court

• Supreme Court Justices: Must have served at least three (3) years on the Circuit Court.

A nominee who has not served on the Circuit Court may still be eligible for the Supreme Court if they meet all of the following:

1. At least twenty (20) years of experience in constitutional litigation, legal scholarship (as defined above), or federal appellate practice;

2. Personal argument of at least three (3) constitutional cases before a U.S. Circuit Court or the Supreme Court; and

3. Have been cited in at least two (2) published majority opinions from a U.S. Circuit Court or the Supreme Court.