Judge selection debate flares in Tennessee

The Tennessean
Chas Sisk
Sunday, April 26, 2009
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Groups who want judges elected instead of appointed intensify their campaign

Legal opinion says ending Tennessee Plan for appellate judges could create problems

Chattanooga Times Free Press
Andy Sher
Saturday, March 28, 2009
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Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper says in a new opinion that officials will be unable to fill vacancies on the state Supreme Court and appellate courts if lawmakers do not renew two judicial commissions.

Judicial selection proposal debated

Associated Press
Eric Schelzig
Friday, March 27, 2009
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Ramsey wants to renew panel, change process

AG opines effect of expired judge selection law

Associated Press
Friday, March 27, 2009
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Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper says there could not be an election for appellate judge in either 2010 or 2014 if Tennessee's current method for selecting appeal judges and Supreme Court justices is scrapped.

Tenn. Judges: Merit selection should stand

Nashville Business Journal
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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The state's 29 current appellate court judges are in agreement that Tennessee's merit selection process should stand, one Supreme Court judge says.

Picking the deciders

Memphis Commercial Appeal
Richard Locker
Sunday, March 15, 2009
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Tennessee lawmakers face a big choice this year: how to select or elect the interpreters of law

Judicial selection process up in air; Election, evaluation panels expire June 30

Memphis Commercial Appeal
Richard Locker
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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Tennesseans would elect the 20 state appellate judges through regular contested elections and later vote "yes" or "no" on keeping them if the state legislature doesn't renew key elements of the judicial selection law.

State judicial selection best, says American Bar Association president

Memphis Commercial Appeal
Blake Fontenay
Thursday, February 05, 2009
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American Bar Association president Thomas Wells doesn't deny the possibility that politics can creep into Tennessee's process for selecting appellate court judges. Even so, Wells said the state's judicial selection system is far better than the alternative of having these judges directly elected by the public.

Lawmakers delay judicial selection review

The Tennessean
Theo Emery
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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Over the summer, lawmakers gathered in Legislative Plaza to pore over the workings of state departments, boards and commissions, a tedious committee process that keeps government working and prevents dozens of agencies each year from fading out of existence. But one entity that lawmakers have yet to review is the Judicial Selection Commission, a body that winnows down candidate lists for appellate judgeships in Tennessee, and sends nominations to the governor for appointment.

Tennessee's new chief justice: Court backs judicial selection

Associated Press
Friday, September 05, 2008
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Tennessee's new chief justice says those on the high court all strongly favor the state's system of selecting appellate court judges. Janice M. Holder, who has been on the state Supreme Court bench since 1996, this week became Tennessee's first female chief justice. She said her court is unanimous in supporting the Tennessee Plan, in which the governor chooses judges from three-person panels determined by the Judicial Selection Commission.

State Supreme Court wants to keep retention system

Memphis Commercial Appeal
Richard Locker
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
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New Tennessee Supreme Court chief justice Janice M. Holder of Memphis says the high court is unanimous in its support of maintaining the state’s current system of selecting its appellate court judges.

Voters approve state judges

Associated Press
Thursday, August 07, 2008
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Voters have approved Gov. Phil Bredesen's appointments of two Tennessee Supreme Court justices and five appeals court judges.

Voters likely to approve judges

Knoxville News Sentinel
Tom Humphrey
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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Voters on Aug. 7 have an opportunity to reject Gov. Phil Bredesen's appointments of two Tennessee Supreme Court justices and five other appeals court judges, but it's a pretty safe bet they will not.

Prominent Democrats go after one of their own — Kurita

Nashvillecitypaper.com
John Rodgers
Monday, July 14, 2008
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Some prominent Tennessee Democrats are trying to throw Sen. Rosalind Kurita out of office in favor of Tim Barnes...In addition to the lottery, Kurita also riled fellow Democrats when she voted with the Republicans to deny Wilder’s attempt to save a key cog of the Tennessee Plan, which is the state’s method for selecting Supreme Court and appellate court judges...Barnes, an attorney, said he considered the Tennessee Plan a “great plan” and said the state should keep it.

Newsmaker Q&A: Brian Fitzpatrick and C. Barry Ward (Two members of the legal community debate The Tennessee Plan)

Business Tennessee
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
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Under Tennessee's system of judicial appointment, the governor of Tennessee fills vacancies occurring on the Tennessee Supreme Court, the State Court of Appeals and the State Court of Criminal Appeals. He or she does so by selecting someone from a list of three potential nominees chosen by a Judicial Selection Commission, currently composed of 17 members, mainly lawyers representing special interest groups such as the trial lawyers association, the association of criminal defense lawyers, the district attorneys general conference and the bar association.

The lion's last roar

Nashville Post
Ken Whitehouse
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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Love him or hate him, it was sad. Former Lt. Gov. John Wilder on Tuesday night lost his last battle in the state legislature.

Wilder’s last gasp on state judges falls short

Nashvillecitypaper.com
John Rodgers
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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Focusing on his legacy before looming retirement, former Lt. Gov. John Wilder made one final effort Tuesday to ensure the future existence of how the state picks its judges, but Senate Republicans denied the move.

Naifeh's wife lobbies on judicial issue

Tennessean.com
Theo Emery
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Last week, the Tennessee Bar Association sent a new representative to sit down with Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and discuss the tangled issue of overhauling the state's judicial appointment system, which Ramsey had taken on as a legislative priority this session.

Bill to change judge selection process stalls in committee

Tennessean.com
Theo Emery
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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Hopes for an overhaul this session of how Tennessee judges are chosen for the bench stalled in a committee hearing on Tuesday, when a bill slated to carry changes to the system ended up parked in a dead-end committee.

Wilder’s judicial plan on rocks as Senate tempers ignite

Nashvillecitypaper.com
John Rodgers
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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One of the signature achievements of former Lt. Gov. John Wilder’s legacy — Tennessee’s method for selecting judges — took another step toward extinction Tuesday as tempers flared and accusations of mistreatment flew in the Senate.

Picking judges likely to change

Knoxville News Sentinel
Tom Humphrey
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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NASHVILLE - Tempers flared Tuesday as the Senate Government Operations Committee closed for the 2008 session, leaving legislation to renew the life of the Judicial Selection Commission - and 53 other state entities - apparently dead.

Proposal on judicial selection changes stalls in Senate

Associated Press
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A proposal to overhaul the state's method of selecting appellate court candidates has stalled in the Senate.

Republican proposal on judicial selection changes faces deadlock

Tennessean.com
Erik Shelzig
Saturday, May 10, 2008
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A Republican-led effort to overhaul the state's method of selecting appellate court candidates appears to be running out of steam just as two more judicial vacancies await being filled.

Closure of Tennessee agencies threatened

Tennessean.com
Theo Emery
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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Dozens of state agencies that perform the most basic government tasks, from patrolling highways to collecting taxes to immunizing children, have become entangled in Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's efforts to change how state judges are selected.

Veto threat may force more open judicial selection process

Associated Press
Sunday, April 27, 2008
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Gov. Phil Bredesen is arguing the need for changes in the judicial selection process.

New proposal issued in supreme wrangle

Knoxville News Sentinel
Tom Humphrey
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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NASHVILLE - Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey has proposed an overhaul of the state system for appointing new judges, while Gov. Phil Bredesen is threatening to use his veto power to bring more openness to the process.

Briley: Judicial meetings should remain secret

Nashvillecitypaper.com
John Rodgers
Saturday, April 19, 2008
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Rep. Rob Briley repeated his defense of closed-door meetings of a powerful judicial panel Thursday, despite Gov. Phil Bredesen’s efforts to shine light upon its proceedings.

Dispute may end system for picking judges

Knoxville News Sentinel
Tom Humphrey
Monday, April 14, 2008
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NASHVILLE - The current system for appointing Tennessee judges may be in jeopardy amid escalating arguments in the Legislature that involve Gov. Phil Bredesen, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and influential lawyers.

Ramsey wants changes to see more conservative judges

Nashvillecitypaper.com
John Rodgers
Friday, April 11, 2008
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Proposal to open judicial selection meetings killed

Associated Press
Erik Schelzig
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
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A House subcommittee on Tuesday killed Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen's proposal to bar the Judicial Selection Commission from meeting in private.

Concern raised about expiration of judicial merit, evaluation systems

knoxnews.com
Robert Wilson
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
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MARYVILLE - A pair of Tennessee judicial scholars are expressing concern that the state's selection-retention process for intermediate appellate and Supreme Court judges is about to expire, possibly leaving the state with unfilled judgeships backlogging the court system.

Association is stepping up its lobbying for "long-term renewal" of the Tennessee Plan

NashvillePost.com
staff reports
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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Tennessee Bar Association President Marcy Eason said in a recent TBA bulletin that the association is stepping up its lobbying for "long-term renewal" of the Tennessee Plan for judicial selection, which is due to sunset in June. In the past few days, Eason, an attorney with Miller & Martin, and TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur declined to provide campaign details following NashvillePost.com queries.

Picking judges without politics: The lengthy battle over filling a Supreme Court vacancy revealed a flaw in the Tennessee Plan.

The Commercial Appeal
Staff Reports
Saturday, March 01, 2008
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Most Tennesseans don't understand the method in which the state's Supreme Court and appellate court judges are chosen, according to a recent poll, but maybe the General Assembly knows enough to fix it.

Panel discusses judicial selection

timesfreepress.com
Brian Lazenby
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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The process Tennessee has used since 1971 to select appellate court judges and Supreme Court justices may be unconstitutional, according to some members of a panel of legal experts who discussed the issue here Wednesday.

Survey says 'Ditch the Tennessee Plan'

nashvillepost.com
staff
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
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A survey commissioned by The Federalist Society, a group dedicated to a literal interpretation of the Constitution, indicates Tennessee voters don't know much about the Tennessee Plan that governs the election of state Supreme Court judges. But the survey also says those voters want to change it.

Voters Don’t Understand the “Tennessee Plan”

WPLN News Transcripts
WPLN News Staff
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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More than 80% of Tennessee voters say they don’t understand how the state’s Supreme Court and appellate judges are chosen. That’s the finding of a survey commissioned by the Federalist Society, a conservative organization dedicated to a literal interpretation of the constitution.

With Judicial Selection Finalists Up for Renewal, Debate Proceeds in Earnest

Memphis Daily News
Bill Dries
Thursday, December 27, 2007
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The state Judicial Selection Commission that has been the subject of Governor Phil Bredesen's ire in the last two years is at a crossroads.