Ron RamseyNASHVILLE – Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said today that now is the time to carry out Tennessee’s first judicial redistricting process in nearly 30 years.
Ramsey, whose staff has been working on a plan since last fall, said he nonetheless is now seeking input from judges, district attorney generals, public defenders and the general public.
Tennessee now has 31 judicial districts from which the office holders are elected and serve. The state’s last judicial redistricting occurred in 1984.
Ramsey said his legal staff first pointed out last summer that it had been years since districts were last drawn.
In looking at what happened in 1984, Ramsey told reporters, “it became quite obvious that it was not drawn based on anything but politics at that time. So what we’re trying to do is make sure we have a plan that is more efficient, that uses our state resources more wisely and is productive.”