Selection Snapshots

Justice Eakin was one of six appellate judges who retained their seats in the November elections. Click here to read the article.

Substantial contributions from trial lawyers to an intermediate appellate court candidate became an issue in the campaign. Republicans accused the Democratic recipient of the contributions of “putting justice for sale” when he accepted $300,000 from a trial lawyers PAC. Click here to read the article.

The judicial nominating commission held public interviews of the eighteen applicants for a court of appeals vacancy.

Responding to questions from lawmakers regarding his record of judicial appointments, Governor Scott said that he will not appoint judges who think differently from him in order to achieve diversity. Of the thirty-six judicial appointments Scott has made, only two have been black, but Scott pointed to the fact that...

Supreme court justice Michael Eakin raised more than $526,000 for his retention campaign. Less than a week before the election, no organized opposition had arisen, but Eakin wanted to be prepared for a late challenge. Then-Justice Russell Nigro lost his retention bid in 2005, and Justice Thomas Saylor was challenged...

Seven in ten respondents to a recent poll favored or strongly favored adopting campaign contribution limits for judicial races. Just over half supported public financing of judicial elections.

October was a record-setting month for Senate confirmation of federal judicial nominees. The fifteen confirmed judges included two appellate court and thirteen district court nominees. Approximately eighty-five federal court vacancies remain.

Proposals to move to merit selection for appellate judges are under consideration in both the house and senate. Supporters of the proposals believe that judges should be selected based on qualifications rather than name recognition.

Two constitutional amendments have been proposed to move away from merit selection for appellate judges, a statutory process that sunsets in 2012. But since the constitution cannot be amended until 2014, the state bar association called for the legislature to extend the Tennessee Plan in the meantime.

A second supreme court justice announced plans to not seek reelection when his term expires in 2012. Chief Justice Paul De Muniz announced his retirement intentions in October.