Gov. Haslam's pick for Tennessee Supreme Court expected by year's end

Gov. Bill Haslam
Gov. Bill Haslam

NASHVILLE - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said he hopes this month to interview three nominees for a seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court and name one of them to the state's highest court by the end of the year.

The governor also said Monday he has some questions in mind for the prospective nominees, all currently state appellate judges, with his appointment of one of them expected to hand control of the five-member court over to Republicans for the first time since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

"Obviously, these folks are going to have a lot of weighty decisions, so we're going to see their legal knowledge, their judicial temperament and their judicial philosophy to make certain that they fit," Haslam said.

Haslam's decision may be complicated by the fact that he's responsible for all three nominees holding their current jobs.

In 2013, the governor appointed Thomas Radcliffe "Skip" Frierson II, 57, of Morristown, to serve on the state's Court of Appeals. He named Roger Amos Page, 60, of Medina, to the state Court of Criminal Appeals in 2011. And in 2014, the governor appointed Robert H. Montgomery, 62, of Kingsport, to serve on the state Court of Criminal Appeals.

Last week, Haslam's Council for Judicial Appointments selected the three nominees from among nine applicants seeking appointment to the vacancy, which was created when Democratic Justice Gary Wade resigned from the court to take over as dean of Lincoln Memorial University's law school. There are currently two Republicans and two Democrats on the bench.

"Once they forward us the three names, we do background checks on everybody and then we'll have them in for interviews, which I think we'll do in the next two or three weeks - sometime between now and Thanksgiving," Haslam said.

"Hopefully, we'll make a decision before the end of the year. That would be our rough schedule," he added.

The appointment is being made under provisions of a new law passed after Tennessee voters in 2014 approved a state constitutional amendment on appellate judges. It enshrined the state's practice of judges running on a yes/no retention ballot instead of traditional contested elections. But it added a provision requiring legislative confirmation.

There are disputes within Tennessee's legal community whether the new appointee would run on a retention ballot next August or not have to face until the end of their terms in 2022.

But Haslam said his legal advisers tell him his appointee would indeed be on the retention ballots in 2016.

The governor spoke after at a wreath-laying ceremony at the state Capitol for the 220th birthday of President James K. Polk of Tennessee.

Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com, 615-255-0550 or follow along on twitter at AndySher1.

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