This paper explains how judges are selected in Brazil at both state and federal levels, and compares the Brazilian method with the United States general procedures in judicial selection. The most significant difference between judicial selections in both countries is that, at the lower level, the process is entirely administered by the judiciary in Brazil. Contrastingly, at the Supreme Court level, the Brazilian Constitution uses the same mechanism established by the United States. This paper underlines that the constitutional transplant of the U.S. model of judicial selection at the Supreme Court has produced a distinct balance of power between different branches of government in Brazil. We provide possible explanations for why apparently identical legal institutions have evolved in different ways.