Federally, Article III judges can be impeached and removed by Congress. Administrative and Military (Article II) judges can be fired outright or demoted. State-

Federally, Article III judges can be impeached and removed by Congress. Administrative and Military (Article II) judges can be fired outright or demoted. State-level, depends on the State, but in California we have something called retention elections, which rarely result in a change in office, but changes in office have come about after particularly unpopular rulings. An appeal doesn’t directly lead to jobs loss, but it doesn’t look good on your record when your judgements are regularly overturned, particularly if you aspire to a better position. Keeping your job isn’t always the only, or most important incentive if you have any kind of ambition or want to leave any kind of lasting legacy.