The Tennessee ConserVOLiance

David Fowler of the Family Action Council of TN has circulated an email announcing his personal decision to vote “no” on the question of retaining the Tennessee Supreme Court and Appellate Court judges.

Why is he doing this? Fowler calls it a “personal declaration of independence.”

The issue is the sham process by which judges in Tennessee are selected by a screening group dominated by special interests, then appointed by the Governor (who can only choose among the three names submitted to him by the screening group), and then finally, submitted to the voters at the next general election (invariably the lower-turnout August election) for a yes-or-no retention vote.

This scheme is called the “Tennessee Plan.” It was concocted by Senator John Wilder in the 1970s when the Democrats panicked after the election of the first Republican governor since Reconstruction in Tennessee. The plan, on its face, appears at odds with the plain language of the state constitution: “The Judges of the Supreme Court shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State.” A special panel of the Supreme Court reviewed the plan in the 1980’s and ruled that it did not violate the constitution. Maybe not, but it violates common sense.

In this year’s legislative session, the Republicans took the position that the Tennessee Plan should be scrapped, and that candidates for the position of Supreme Court Judge should run in competitive elections. The Democrats managed to preserve the system for at least one more year.

So why vote “no?”

Fowler enumerates a number of persuasive reasons, almost all of which can be summed up this way: The odds of the Tennessee Plan producing a strict constructionist, conservative Supreme Court or Appellate Court Judge are effectively zero.

Until the legislature abolishes the Tennessee Plan and establishes procedures for electing judges that comply with the plain meaning of the Tennessee State Constitution, the citizens should vote “no” on retaining ANY judge appointed under the system.

I think Fowler is right.

I’ll be voting “no” on both Supreme Court judge positions (Koch & Wade) and on all five Appellate court judge positions (Bennett, Dinkins, Stafford, Thomas, & McMullen).

All seven of these judges will be on the ballot statewide this Thursday.

I join David Fowler in urging you all to vote “no” on ALL the judges.

- Rob Shearer (aka RedHatRob)