NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A grand jury in Nashville on Friday recommended criminal charges against Tennessee state Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell for failing to appoint an adequate number of women and minorities to a commission that decides whether Tennessee’s appeals judges keep their jobs.
Davidson County District Attorney General Glenn Funk is reviewing the grand jury report and will make the final decision on whether to file charges against them, spokeswoman Dorinda Carter told The Associated Press.
The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which recommends whether to retain appeals court judges, is supposed to mirror the state in its makeup of women and minorities, but does not. It is currently composed of seven white men, one white woman and one African-American woman.
The grand jury report said Ramsey and Harwell “willfully and arrogantly ignored the law regarding those appointments.” One of the grand jurors, however, said she “couldn’t in good conscience” sign the report because of the recommendation against the House and Senate speakers. The report did not specify which criminal statutes might have been violated.
Adam Kleinheider, a spokesman for Ramsey, R-Blountville, and Kara Owen, a spokeswoman for Harwell, R-Nashville, each said they had not seen the report and could not comment on its contents.
WSMV-TV in Nashville first reported the grand jury recommendation.
The Davidson County grand jury said it listened to several presentations from a collection of citizens and high-profile attorneys, including perennial candidate John Jay Hooker, a longtime critic and litigant over Tennessee’s judicial system.
In Tennessee, Appeals Court and Supreme Court judges are appointed by the governor, but they have to be re-elected to stay in office.
A recommendation from the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission that a judge be retained means the judge faces a simple up-down vote in the general election.
A negative vote means a judge faces a contested election, although in reality, judges with negative votes have chosen to simply retire instead of facing a full-fledged campaign with challengers. A judge has lost a retention vote only once.
Ramsey has voiced frustration over the evaluation panel because it rarely recommends replacing judges.
“I don’t think that serves much purpose, personally, when everyone – everyone – gets a positive evaluation,” Ramsey told reporters last month.
Ramsey has acknowledged that the judicial commission does not adequately reflect the gender and racial makeup of the state, but he said the law states that those who appoint members “shall strive” to strike the balance, not that they must do so absolutely.
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Associated Press Writer Brett Barrouquere in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.