By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II
Associated Press
NASHVILLE (AP) - The state's top Republicans want to place a
ballot measure before Tennessee voters to eliminate any constitutional
questions about the current system for appointing judges.
Gov. Bill Haslam, Senate
Speaker Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell announced Wednesday
that they will introduce legislation and a proposed constitutional
amendment designed to avoid the popular election of Supreme Court and
appeals judges.
"The uncertainly surrounding
the process, the differences on what the constitution means and the
effect this has on the judicial branch are all results that no one
wants," Haslam said at a press conference at the Capitol. "This is the
best way to handle it."
The proposal would formalize
the current system, where a commission nominates judges, the governor
appoints them and voters cast ballots on whether to keep them on the
bench.
While the plan for electing
judges has withstood legal challenges, the system has been criticized by
those who say it conflicts with language in the state constitution that
says Supreme Court justices "shall be elected by the qualified voters
of the state."
Ramsey acknowledged that members of his own party are the most vocal about wanting to hold statewide elections for justices.
"There are some in our
political party that feel like we ought to be electing everything, so to
speak," said Ramsey, of Blountville. "But ... someone having to spend
multimillions of dollars to get elected statewide probably won't get to
where we want to be."
Changing the Tennessee
Constitution is a slow process and must be approved by successive
General Assemblies before going before the voters in a gubernatorial
election year.
Haslam said he expects to see
campaign committees on both sides of the issue should it make it to
ballot, but that he hopes the support of top Republicans will help gain
its approval.
Ramsey said it may be a difficult task to persuade skeptics about the need for keeping the current system.
"Obviously, it is going to be a
job that we're going to have to sell," he said. "I will be at the
mountaintop screaming that this is what we need to be doing."
Wednesday's proposal also
calls for separate legislation to keep the current system in place until
2015, meaning current justices and judges would run again in retention
elections in August 2014 - three months before constitutional amendment
could go before the voters.
Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin,
said he we will nevertheless press ahead with a bill calling for the
popular election of Supreme Court judges in 2014.
"The people of Tennessee want
to elect the judges, and we should implement my bill and then see if the
people want to change the constitution," Casada said. "I don't think
they will."
Casada acknowledged that his proposal faces a tough road to passage given the position of the governor and the two speakers.
"But I contend that even if
you don't agree with my legislation, you've got to adhere to the
constitution - even if you don't like it," he said.
David Fowler, president of the
Family Action Council of Tennessee, said his group supports a separate
measure sponsored by Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown. That bill calls
for legislative confirmation of the governor's appointments to the
bench.
"Right now, there's really
nobody that the public could effectively hold accountable for who is on
the court," Fowler said. "It would at least allow the people say this is
a great judge or this isn't a great judge, and make that an issue in
the upcoming legislative elections."
House Majority Leader Gerald
McCormick, R-Chattanooga, said while he supports the current plan, he
doesn't agree with legal rulings that have found it is in compliance
with the language of the state constitution.
"The wording is so clear in it
that you can't convince me that the people who wrote that constitution
didn't want to have elected judges," he said. "Why even have a
constitution if we don't follow it?"
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner of Nashville said he was surprised by Wednesday's announcement
"They pretty advocated the
position the Democrats have been advocating for some time now," he said.
"I'm a little curious. My hair on the back of my neck is raised a
little bit trying to figure out what they're doing."
Allan Ramsaur, executive
director of the Tennessee Bar Association, said last week that attorneys
see the changes as unnecessary because the state Supreme Court has
upheld the current system.
"But if the General Assembly decides a constitutional amendment is necessary, we'll support that, too," he said.
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