When negotiating with hostage-takers . . .

I never saw Mel Gibson's Ransom when it was in theaters, but the movie came to mind as I contemplated the struggle over judicial selection in the state Capitol.

State lawmakers who purport to oppose having an unconstitutional system for selecting judges are worrying about what may happen if they sunset the "Tennessee Plan" without providing for a seamless transition or a soft landing or (insert preferred, hackneyed metaphor here). To be clear, I like most of these legislators, and I don't want to get them cross with me, but it appears that they are looking for a compromise for fear of aggravating the Lawyers Lobby.

If you're like me, you bristle at the thought of being forced to negotiate with a hostage-taker, you know, like Mel Gibson's character in Ransom. And in the debate over whether to renew the lawyer-controlled "Tennessee Plan," too many legislators are falling over themselves to strike a deal with those who've taken hostage our system of picking judges. One legislator recently was quoted as saying:

"“The Constitution of Tennessee means what it says,” . . . “Article VI, Sec. 3, states, ‘(t)he Judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State.’ So it is also with the election of judges of the ‘inferior’ courts. If the people of Tennessee wish it to be otherwise, then we should set in motion the process to amend the Constitution accordingly.”

. . . until then, the General Assembly must agree upon the means by “which we shall transition from the plan we have to the plan we must have” to assure that the administration of justice is done properly."

This is some legislators' rationale for reaching a compromise with the Lawyers Lobby . . . a compromise that is sure to preserve commission-based selection of judges.

The Lawyers Lobby is warning of falling skies and chaos if the "Tennessee Plan" is not renewed, but I'm inclined to view these hostage-takers like the guys who mistakenly nabbed Mel Gibson's son in Ransom (see above). And, to be honest, I'm not even sure there's a bona fide dilemma here.

The sky will not fall if the "Tennessee Plan" is sunset. Yes, the Lawyers Lobby will don sackcloth and ashes. And you can bet your buttons there will be litigation (we're stirring up a hornet's nest full of lawyers, after all). But there's an entire legislative session (and more than a year) between now and the next bi-ennial election for judges. And there are five sessions between now and the next election for full judicial terms. That will be plenty of time--for legislators sufficiently motivated, to come up with any necessary "transition" to a Constitutional system. Heck, they could repeal the entire "Tennessee Plan" if they wanted to.

Maybe lawmakers should rent Ransom. We don't need to let these guys bully us.