The first meeting of the state's newly formed Judicial Nominating Commission is set for Sept. 23 in Nashville.

Created as a way to reform the controversial process for selecting Tennessee's appellate judges, the commission has 17 members and will be responsible for making judicial nominations to the state appellate and supreme courts when vacancies arise.

Two panel members are from Hamilton County -- Christopher Clem, a Chattanooga attorney who practices civil law, and William Young, general counsel and senior vice president of risk management for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

"I have a keen interest in ensuring Tennessee appoints persons as judges who have high integrity and ethics," Mr. Young wrote in his application to serve on the commission.

The process for selecting the state's appellate judges, dubbed the "Tennessee Plan," had come under fire again over the past year. During this year's General Assembly session, legislators had the option of abandoning the plan and reverting to what critics say the state constitution calls for: the popular election of such judges.

Instead, the Legislature voted to keep the plan but reinvent the way in which the nominating committee is selected. The new commission takes away mandated appointments to the commission by various legal and special-interest groups such as the state bar association.

The 17 current members of the new commission, selected Aug. 27, were appointed either by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, or House Speaker Kent Williams, R-Elizabethton, and nonlawyers were invited to apply.

"The Judicial Nominating Commission plays an essential role in helping ensure that Tennessee has a fair, qualified, diverse and impartial judiciary," House Speaker Williams said recently.