Amend constitution? Well since you asked . . .

Vanderbilt law prof, Brian Fitzpatrick on efforts to amend constitution re. judicial selection Format Dynamics :: CleanPrint :: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120203/OPINION03/302030052/-Tennessee-Plan-needs-revisions?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|News|p:

Last week, Gov. Bill Haslam, Lt. Gov. Ron
Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell
announced their support for an
amendment to the Tennessee Constitution
that would legalize our system for selecting
state judges. For many years, people have
doubted whether our system, known as the
“Tennessee Plan,” is constitutional. These
leaders deserve great credit for taking the
constitution seriously and doing something
about it.

But constitutional amendments require
great time and effort, and there is no
guarantee the public will go along. And
once in the constitution, the system will be
difficult to change. Thus, before enshrining
it there, we should ask whether the plan
can be improved. It can.

Ouch: not the kind of national attn. you want

Tennessee Republicans Carry Water for Soros and the Trial Lawyers - By Carrie Severino - Bench Memos - National Review Online:

Tennessee governor Bill Haslam, lieutenant governor Ron Ramsey, and state-house speaker Beth Harwell, all Republicans, announced that they have a solution to the ongoing controversy: Amend the Tennessee Constitution to formalize their version of the Missouri Plan.

Why would these Tennessee Republicans be joining forces with the far left?

Hopefully this is just a big misunderstanding. Do these three Republicans really believe that Tennesseans--much less Conservative Tennesseans, will go along with this proposal? They have promised a big campaign . . . and they will need one.

Fowler: Fixing the Constitution: Is There a Better Approach to Selecting Judges?

David Fowler, former TN state senator and current president of Family Action Council of TN (FACT), comments on proposals to amend the TN constitution re. judicial selection Fixing the Constitution: Is There a Better Approach to Selecting Judges?

Tennessean focuses on Judicial Selection

The Tennessean editorial page on Sunday was devoted to the issue of judicial selection. If you're interested, you can read all three op/eds. Suffice it to say, whatever the purported advantages of appointment/retention of judges, opponents of electing judges need to change the Constitution rather than skirting it.

Judge-selection system in state instills trust

Skirting constitution is an abuse of power

Electing judges will only create problems

Did sitting appellate judges get their supper for free?

Conservatives want judges to sing for their supper and submit to contested elections — but will that pimp out the bench? | Jeff Woods | Nashville Scene:

Calling it a threat to their independence and integrity, judges on the state's highest courts are descending into the muddy political trenches of the legislature to try to put down a conservative populist uprising.

The judges are apoplectic over the possibility of a change in state law that they say would put justice up for sale in Tennessee. It would end their comfy, hard-to-lose yes/no elections and force them to hit the hustings like common politicians to shake down fat cats, cut backroom deals, kiss babies, talk tough in TV ads and promise the moon to voters in competitive campaigns.

But having already been placed on the bench by a coalition of powerful special interests and powerful politicians, did sitting appellate judges get their supper for free?

Fred Thompson joins trial lawyers lobby | Affairs of State | NashvillePost.com: Nashville Business News + Nashville Political News

Fred Thompson joins trial lawyers lobby | Affairs of State | NashvillePost.com: Nashville Business News + Nashville Political News:

Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson will be lobbying the Tennessee General Assembly on behalf of the Tennessee Association for Justice – aka the trial lawyers – this legislative session according to NashvillePost.com sources.

Ka-ching!

Who says appointment with retention votes for judges is best?

Interesting analysis of the comment from Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady heralding the Iowa version of choosing judges by commission appointment and retention: ("Iowa’s Crazy Judges, Part II" - By Gary Marx - Bench Memos - National Review Online)