NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Haslam and the House and Senate speakers announced a proposal today to amend the Tennessee Constitution regarding how appellate judges are selected.
The proposal would enshrine the current practice in which a commission nominates potential state Supreme Court justices and appellate judges based on merit and the governor appoints one of the nominees.
The appointed judges would later run in retention elections just as they do now.
Haslam, a Republican, and fellow Republicans Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell, all said the current system works well.
But critics have contended for years that using the current system instead of popular elections violates the Tennessee Constitution.
For complete details, see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
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