Despite a state Supreme Court ruling to the contrary, the way that Tennessee selects many of its judges probably is unconstitutional, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) told Southeast Tennessee Political Action Committee members Friday.
Under the state’s current method for picking judges, known as the Tennessee Plan, a Judicial Selection Commission recommends potential justices for the state supreme court to the governor as well as future state appellate and trial court judges.
According to the state Constitution, he said, all judges are supposed to be elected “so I’m not sure this is even legal, but the state supreme court says it is OK.”
Adopted in 1994, the plan was one of the primary accomplishments of Lt. Gov. Ramsey’s predecessor, former Lt. Gov. John Wilder (D-Mason).
It is due to expire on July 1, 2009, unless state legislators renew it, and the former Lt. Gov. Wilder worked hard during the legislative session which just ended to work out a deal to renew it.
But the Senate Government Operations Committee, which has a Republican majority, killed the bill that he had introduced.
Friday, Lt. Gov. Ramsey said he believes the Judicial Selection Commission – as it is currently structured – is a self-perpetuating system because officials can only select judges from lists submitted by groups such as the Tennessee Bar Association.
“I think we ought to be able to select anybody we want,” he said.
On other matters, Lt. Gov. Ramsey said:
* The medical malpractice/tort reform passed by this year’s legislature doesn’t go as far as he would have liked, but it is a step in the right direction.
* Changes to the Hope Scholarship program will make it easier for recipients to stay in college, even if their grade point average is below 3.0.
* The controversial AT&T cable bill – a “lobbyist full employment act,” he joked – will hopefully lower prices and improve services for Tennesseans, as well as expand broadband. “I used to get more complaints about cable than about anything else,” he remarked.