Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey speaks to reporters in his office in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Add the election of Supreme Court justices and appellate judges to the list of disagreements between the top two Republicans at the Tennessee Statehouse.
Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey of Blountville on Tuesday night broke a 4-4 committee deadlock to advance a bill to require state Supreme Court justices and appeals judges to stand for popular election – a move that fellow Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has opposed.
During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, Haslam spoke out in favor of keeping the current system in which the governor appoints justices and appeals judges, who later stand in yes-no retention elections.
Critics point to language in the state constitution requiring all judges to be “elected by the qualified voters of the state,” and argue that the Supreme Court has had a conflict of interest in upholding the Tennessee system.
Haslam said during the governor’s race last year that he doesn’t want politics to interfere with the judicial system and that the existing laws have withstood legal challenges. Spokesman David Smith said Wednesday that Haslam’s position hasn’t changed.