In Texas, virtually all judges are elected. But since he took office in 2000, Gov. Rick Perry has usually picked the winners on the state’s highest civil court, the Texas Supreme Court.

An example: In November, Debra Lehrmann, an incumbent, handily beat her opponent to win a six-year term on the Supreme Court. It was her first general election, but she had already served five months on the court. Perry appointed her in June 2010, when her predecessor, Harriet O’Neill, stepped down before her term was over. 

To date, only one of Perry’s 10 Supreme Court appointees ...

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