Gov. Bill HaslamGov. Bill Haslam’s decision this week not to fill a vacant Hamilton County Criminal Court seat created questions where many had hoped for an answer.
In a statement released late Thursday, Haslam declined to immediately appoint a new judge from a pool of three nominees and instead asked his Council for Judicial Appointments submit three new names for his consideration. It’s the first time he’s ever made that request, spokesman David Smith said.
That will mean a new application deadline, a new review and public interview process, a new round of council selections and more time without a permanent judge overseeing a third of the county’s criminal cases.
New candidates must apply by July 6 and the council has 45 days from the date they received Haslam’s request to narrow the field to three. Then the governor has an additional 60 days to choose from among the six candidates.
The vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Rebecca Stern, who left June 1. In addition to a full load of criminal cases, Stern oversaw the county’s drug court program. Those cases are being managed on a rotating basis by Judges Barry Steelman and Don Poole, but it’s not the same as having a sitting judge, Drug Court Administrator Elaine Kelly said.