Slideshow of Haslam’s final State of the State
A collection of photos from Gov. Bill Haslam’s final State of the State address:
Gov. Bill Haslam prepares to give his final State of the State speech on Jan. 29, 2018 in Nashville. (Photo credit: Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Norris voices doubts about being confirmed as U.S. District Court judge
State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris says he will stay in his current elective position until the U.S. Senate actually confirms his nomination as U.S. District Judge for West Tennessee – and he’s not really certain that’s going to happen, reports The Tennessean.
“I don’t trust the United States Senate to follow through on this,” he said during a state Senate GOP caucus meeting. “I’m not going to resign the seat which my constituents have elected me or this leadership for which you elected me.”
NAACP affiliate opposes Norris confirmation as federal judge
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) announced its opposition to the confirmation of state Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) as a federal judge, reports Nashville Post. At least two other ‘progressive groups’ are opposing confirmation.
Norris, an attorney with Adams and Reese, was nominated to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee by President Donald Trump earlier this year. He was questione by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in October, but it has not yet voted on his nomination. If the committee votes in favor of his appointment, the vote would move to the full Senate.
In a letter to the Judiciary Committee, Sherrilyn A. Ifill, the president of the LDF (a separate institution from the NCAAP itself) cites concerns with Norris’s record as a legislator.
“Norris has developed an appalling record opposing equal rights that stands out even among President Trump’s long line of anti-civil rights nominees,” Ifill writes. “Norris’s record of hostility toward vulnerable and marginalized communities in Tennessee – that is, the very people who depend most on the courts to protect their rights – shows that he cannot fairly and impartially provide equal justice under the law.”
Norris questioned on gay marriage at hearing on confirmation as U.S. judge; no vote taken
Tennessee state Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, nominated for a federal judgeship in West Tennessee, told U.S. senators Wednesday he considers the legality of same-sex marriage to be a settled issue and that he would follow it as a precedent if confirmed to the bench, reports Michael Collins.
The Senate Judiciary Committee took no vote Wednesday on whether to confirm President Donald Trump’s nomination of Norris, R-Colliervile, leaving that to another meeting. Norris has supported state legislation that critics argue would undermine the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling that legalized gay marriage in 2015.
He also was one of the leading sponsors of a state resolution calling for a federal Constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman. (Note: The apparent reference is to SJR27 back in 2003, which had then-Sen. David Fowler, now head of the Family Action Council of Tennessee and a staunch opponent of gay marriage, as prime sponsor and Norris as a co-sponsor.)
