Though they come from different political backgrounds, Bill Haslam and Phil Bredesen have a few things in common. They both know what's like to run the state of Tennessee. Both are considered moderate representatives of their respective parties. And both of them support a proposed amendment to Tennessee's constitution that would alter the way appellate court judges are selected.
It was their shared support for Amendment Two that brought them to the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy in Knoxville on Wednesday. In a discussion moderated by University of Tennessee law school dean Doug Blaze, Haslam and Bredesen made their case for the amendment, which would keep in place the current system in which the governor appoints judges, but would add a layer of approval from the General Assembly.
During the forum, Haslam mentioned that the proposed amendment had the support of politicians on both sides of the aisle, from the Democratic mayors of Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville to former Republican Senator Fred Thompson.
Both governors expressed a fear that the failure of the amendment would add political momentum to lawmakers who say Tennessee's appellate judges should be chosen through direct election. That method would only worsen the politicization of judicial campaigns, Haslam said. He turned to a sports metaphor to make his point.
“In a [baseball] game, you want to make certain that umpire is not for either team," he told reporters. "And so I think that’s why I think we’re here, advocating this so strong. We think it’s really important that we have a judiciary that’s about being a referee or an umpire, instead of making a political decision.”
The issue of political influence on the judiciary was raised earlier this week. House Democratic leader Craig Fitzhugh lamented the state Supreme Court's choice of Haslam adviser Herbert Slatery to be Tennessee's attorney general. Fitzhugh said the choice may have been nudged by Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey's campaign to unseat three of the five justices last month. Ramsey has said he did urge justices Gary Wade and Sharon Lee to select someone "more conservative" than former AG Bob Cooper for the post.
Critics of Tennessee's current model for selecting appellate judges say it takes power out of the hands of voters. They point to a passage of the state constitution that says those judges "shall be elected by the qualified voters" in judicial districts. Supporters of the Tennessee model say retention elections held every eight years meet that criterion. That won't change under Amendment Two, but Bredesen said voters aren't being left out of the process.
“It’s not a question of the people not being able to do it. They have an elected official on the ballot – the governor, who they can hold responsible for these kinds of appointments. And this provides the additional check of the legislature passing the individual appointment," he said.
Bredesen also said it's unlikely that voters would have much interest in keeping up with all the issues that face the state's 29 appellate-level judges.
"You have to respect the fact that most people have things to in life other than worrying about elections," he told reporters.
Amendment Two is one of four proposed amendments that Tennessee voters will evaluate on election day, Tuesday, November 4.