Herbert Slatery sworn in as Tennessee's attorney general

First Republican to hold post in 144 years

Arkansas-Tennessee Live Blog
photo Herbert Slatery speaks about his appointment as attorney general in the Tennessee Supreme Court chamber in Nashville on Sept. 15.

NASHVILLE -- Herbert Slatery III was sworn in today as Tennessee's first Republican state attorney in 144 years in a ceremony shared by his now-former boss, Gov. Bill Haslam, and state Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee.

The swearing-in ceremony took place in the state Capitol's Old Supreme Court Chamber.

Slatery, a 62-year-old Knoxville lawyer, is the 27th white male to become Tennessee's top lawyer. He previously had been Haslam's legal counsel.

He replaces Bob Cooper, a Democrat and Chattanooga native who sought reappointment to a second eight-year term but was spurned by the five Supreme Court justices that make the appointment.

Cooper sat in the audience.

Slatery, a close friend of Haslam's, said he appreciates the "gravity" of the office and its responsibilities to state officials and the public.

His appointment came after Democratic Justices Lee, Connie Clark and Gary Wade survived a conservative Republican effort to defeat the trio in their Aug. 7 retention election.

Republican state Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey led the effort which resulted in record-breaking spending in a Supreme Court election with more than $3.5 million spent on television alone.

GOP hardliners sought to make Cooper an issue, sharply criticizing him for his refusal to join mostly Republican attorneys general in other states who challenged President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act in the federal courts.

Cooper later said his office had been pushed by both sides in the lawsuit to support their position and noted he said no to each. It would not have been a "wise use" of state funds, Cooper said, and noted it would "have had no impact" on the litigation.

He said its only purpose "would have been to make a partisan political statement on a divisive national issue."

Tennessee is the only state in the country where Supreme Court justices appoint the attorney general.

Upcoming Events