NASHVILLE — A Republican senator from Chattanooga opposed an amendment to Tennessee’s constitution that would expand a judge’s ability to remove a defendant’s right to bail for certain offenses.
The resolution to amend the constitution, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, was brought before the senate judiciary committee Tuesday afternoon and recommended for adoption, 6-3, after more than an hour of debate and testimony.
The state constitution currently gives all individuals the right to bail unless charged with a capital offense. In Tennessee, the sole capital offense is first-degree murder.
Johnson said the current law ties the hands of judges by only giving them discretion to deny bail for violent offenders charged with first-degree murder.
State Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, chairs the committee and voted against the resolution alongside two Democratic senators from Memphis.