Our state judges – all of them – are very important. Most of them, thankfully, try to “stay out of politics,” in the sense that they avoid “partisan political issues.” Most seek to rule in each case only according to the law and the facts.
In Tennessee, incumbent judges, instead of running for re-election against named opponents, are listed periodically on ballots only for retention or replacement. That is the case for two judges in the Aug. 5 election.
Voters will be asked in one case, “Shall Sharon Gail Lee be retained or replaced in office as a Judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court?”
A totally separate question will be, “Shall John W. McClarty be retained or replaced in office as a Judge of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Division?”
Most of us really know very little about these judges. Most of us have never come in contact with them. We know no reason to reject either of them.
We do not like this system of re-electing judges in Tennessee. But that is not the judges’ fault.
We know of no specific reason either of these judges should not be “retained.”