[Wilder] was deeply committed to the rule of law, bipartisanship, racial equality and fiscal conservatism. We will not see his likes again.Sorry, I do not doubt that Wilder desired to serve what he perceived to be the best interest of Tennesseans, but the establishment of a process that ignored "judges shall be elected" was grossly inconsistent with "rule of law." In any event, RIP, Lt. Gov. Wilder.
• supported politicizing the judicial selection process by electing judges to their positions, from the state supreme court down to the local judge. Many say that our current system of selecting judges by way of a judicial selection commission, which chooses the slate of candidates from which governors appoint new judges, is the most professional and least politicized process in the region.Well, Kelsey is in good company on this point: a majority of Tennesseans agree that leaving the selection of judges to an unaccountable commission of special-interest lawyers was a bad idea.
Justice O’Connor would like to see judicial elections ended, to protect the independence of the third branch of government. “We need to encourage judges and justices, when they speak in public arenas, to talk about these matters, and to keep reminding Americans about the importance of an independent judiciary,” said O’Connor.
She thinks that if Americans were better informed about the judiciary, the need to abolish elections would be self-evident. The states with judicial elections “allow campaign contributions to be made, and there can be vigorous and unfortunate campaigns. All of those states initially had appointed judges, and after Andrew Jackson became president, he had some very populist ideals, and he started persuading some of the states that they should elect judges, not appoint them. First state was Georgia. And they’re still doing that,” she said. “Look at the Caperton case. John Grisham’s novel on appeals might be based on it. It should be a source of real concern for Americans. If we have to resort to litigation, we want to feel issues will be decided fairly and impartially in court by a competent judge who is not subject to influence by campaign contributions and leanings towards one side or another.”
Some might argue that being involved in elections forces judges to be more transparent and to educate the public about what they do, but O’Connor disagrees with that notion. “If you have looked at some of the television ads in states that have judicial elections, I do not think you would be persuaded that it’s educational,” she said. “It’s not a very civilized or educational campaign."
The process for selecting the state's appellate judges, dubbed the "Tennessee Plan," had come under fire again over the past year. During this year's General Assembly session, legislators had the option of abandoning the plan and reverting to what critics say the state constitution calls for: the popular election of such judges.
Instead, the Legislature voted to keep the plan but reinvent the way in which the nominating committee is selected. The new commission takes away mandated appointments to the commission by various legal and special-interest groups such as the state bar association.
Here's a list of [the Speaker of the House Kent] Williams appointees:
-David Bautista, an attorney and adjunct professor in East Tennessee State University's Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.
-Mary Helen Beard, senior attorney with FedEx Corp. in Memphis.
-Ana L. Escobar, a Nashville attorney specializing in criminal defense.
-Russell Johnson of Loudon County, who is district attorney general in the 9th Judicial District and a former Republican state representative.
-Edward L. Martindale Jr., a Jackson attorney.
-William Scott Sims, a Nashville attorney.
-Denise Terry Stapleton, a Morristown attorney.
-C. Barry Ward of Tipton County, a lawyer who practices in Memphis.
Here is a list of [the Lt. Gov. Ron] Ramsey appointees:
-Miles Burdine, president and CEO of the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce.
-Christopher Campbell, a Memphis attorney.
-Christopher Clem, a Chattanooga lawyer and former Republican state representative.
-William Jenkins Jr., a Dyersburg attorney and son of former U.S. Rep. Bill Jenkins of Rogersville.
-Theresa Lee, senior vice president and chief legal officer for Eastman Chemical Co. in Kingsport.
-Thomas Lawless, a Nashville lawyer
-Jack Lowery, a Lebanon lawyer.
-William Young of Signal Mountain, general counsel and senior vice president of Risk Management for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee in Chattanooga.
