I can’t find Tom Humphrey’s article entitled “Nobody goes till finances resolved” from Sunday’s paper either by searching for all of Tom’s articles or by title, so I apologize, I can’t give you a link.

But you need to know what he reported regarding the “Tennessee Plan” and your ability to vote on Tennessee Supreme Court Justices.

Tom notes in his article dated Sun., May 18 in the portion I’m quoting from page B6:

“Wilder, meanwhile, has found a means to attempt to resurrect the Judicial Selection Commission at the last moment.  The controversial panel, which decides who can be selected as a judge by the governor, is scheduled to officially cease to exist on July 1–though it will have a year to close out its affairs.

A bill to give the commission a new lease on life failed in a Senate committee.  But Wilder, thanks to a rarely used Senate rule, has filed a motion that apparently will lead to a Senate floor fight on the issue Tuesday.” 

To recap, the plan expires unless reauthorized.

There are three factions in the Senate:

Faction 1: Reauthorize with a majority of trial lawyers controlling the commission and who your supreme court justice will be. This faction is mostly Dems led by architect John Wilder (as Naifeh and fellow Dems in the House have already voted to reauthorize.)

Faction 2: Republicans who want to change the structure of the commission thereby having some influence over the pick, but nevertheless, still denying Tennessee citizens the right to vote in a contested election for their Supreme Court justices.  Speaker Ramsey is leading this group.

Faction 3: Republicans who believe that the Constitution clearly says that Tennesseans have a right to choose their Supreme Court justices just as they choose their governor.

My advice to you: Contact your State Senator IMMEDIATELY.  You may side with Ramsey and at least want to open up the commission.

Or you may side with those who believe this commission process is unconstitutional. 

Either way, you need to contact them ASAP.

I trust the people of Tennessee to choose a Supreme Court justice just as they choose local judges.  I’m for ending the Commission.  I don’t see how this Commission lines up with the Constitution.  But as we see from the video below, the architect of the plan doesn’t believe law is found in the Constitution anyway, it’s only in the cosmos.  (And from the make-up of the commission, that must be some place where all the liberal trial lawyers hang out.)

The “Tennessee Plan” architect and Senator John Wilder asks where is the law.  Is it in the Constitution?  No, he says, it’s “in the cosmos.”