New TNJ edition alert: GOP flexes on Nashville, new House rules to limit speechifying on floor
The latest print edition of The Tennessee Journal is out. Here is what’s in it:
— GOP flexes muscles in standoff with Nashville, but will it stick?
— New House rules will give less time to speechifying on the floor, try to keep killed bills dead, and give voice votes the seal of approval.
— Gov. Bill Lee names new members to charter appeals panel.
— Female majority on Supreme Court hangs in balance, grand divisions get equal billing despite population differences.
Also: Someone almost stole $186,000 from the Harshbarger campaign, Mark Green lands a committee chairmanship, state House members’ parking skills scrutinized, and Tim Burchett discusses the perils of drunken rednecks.
As always, access the your copy of the TNJ here.
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5 apply for Tennessee Supreme Court vacancy
Five candidates have applied an upcoming state Supreme Court vacancy stemming from the retirement of Justice Sharon Lee. Her successor must be an East Tennessee resident.
The applicants are:
— Appeals Judge Kristi Davis of Knoxville.
— Criminal Appeals Judge Tom Greenholtz of Chattanooga.
— Chancellor John C. Rambo of Jonesborough.
— Attorney Michael Richardson of Chattanooga.
— Former gubernatorial legal counsel Dwight Tarwater of Knoxville.
Kelsey law license suspended following guilty plea
Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) has had his law license suspended after pleading guilty to two federal felonies stemming from campaign finance crimes during his 2016 congressional bid.
Here’s the announcement from the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility:
On December 8, 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Brian Kirk Kelsey from the practice of law until further orders of the Court pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 22.3. Mr. Kelsey pled Guilty to two (2) felonies involving conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions.
Pursuant to the Order of the Supreme Court, the matter has been referred to the Board to institute formal proceedings to determine the extent of the final discipline to be imposed upon Mr. Kelsey as a result of his plea of guilty to conduct constituting a serious crime as defined by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 2.
Mr. Kelsey must comply with the requirements of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 28, regarding the obligations and responsibilities of suspended attorneys.
Here’s the timetable for filling the upcoming SCOTENN vacancy
With state Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee announcing her plans to retire at the end of August, officials have released a timetable for selecting her successor.
Applicants must be licensed attorneys of at least 35 years of age who live in the eastern grand division of the state. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will accept applications through Dec. 12. The panel plans to interview candidates on Jan. 4 at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
The council usually narrows the list down to three finalists at the end of its public hearings. The slate will will then undergo background checks and vetting by the governor’s office before Bill Lee either makes his choice or asks for another list. The governor’s nominee must be confirmed by the General Assembly before being sworn into the state’s court of last resort.
Justice Sharon Lee to retire from Tennessee Supreme Court
Sharon Lee, the last remaining Democrat on the state Supreme Court, plans to retire from the bench next year, The Tennessee Journal has learned.
Lee was appointed to the state’s highest court by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2008. He had previously named the Monroe County native to the state Court of Appeals in 2004.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee in January named Sarah Campbell, a former associate solicitor general and special assistant state attorney general, to the Supreme Court. The remaining three justices, Jeff Bivins, Holly Kirby, and Roger Page, were appointed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.
The timing of Sharon Lee’s retirement will allow her to remain a member of the court through August 2023 while the application, gubernatorial nomination, and legislative confirmation process take place.
UPDATE: The Administrative Office of the Courts has made it official.
““Serving in the Tennessee Judiciary for the past 19 years has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Lee said in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Tennesseans and have done my best to fulfill my judicial oath by upholding the state and federal Constitutions and administering justice faithfully and impartially.”
Skrmetti sworn in as Tennessee attorney general
Jonathan Skrmetti has been sworn is Tennessee attorney. He succeeds Herbert Slatery, who didn’t seek a second term.
Here’s the release from the AG’s office:
Nashville, TN – Jonathan Skrmetti was sworn in as Tennessee’s 28th Attorney General this morning at a private ceremony attended by his immediate family.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Tennessee as their Attorney General and Reporter,” said General Skrmetti. “I look forward to promoting the rule of law and advocating for the rights and freedoms of all Tennesseans.”
Attorney General Skrmetti was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve an eight-year term on August 10, 2022. Tennessee is the only state where the Supreme Court selects the Attorney General.
Prior to his appointment, Attorney General Skrmetti served as Chief Counsel to Governor Bill Lee and as Chief Deputy Attorney General. Before his work on behalf of the State of Tennessee, General Skrmetti was a partner at Butler Snow LLP in Memphis and served as a federal prosecutor for almost a decade, first at the Civil Rights Division and then as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Memphis. He also taught cyberlaw as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis.
Attorney General Skrmetti earned honors degrees from George Washington University, the University of Oxford, and Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Steven Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He and his wife and four children currently reside in Franklin and attend Harpeth Hills Church of Christ.
Lee’s legal counsel Skrmetti, attorney Schmid apply for AG
Jonathan Skrmetti, the top legal adviser to Gov. Bill Lee since December, has applied for attorney general ahead of Friday’s deadline, The Tennessee Journal has learned. Also putting his name in was Knoxville attorney Culver Schmid of the Baker Donelson law firm.
They join four others who previously submitted applications to the state Supreme Court.
Skrmetti had been chief deputy to Attorney General Herbert Slatery when he decided to apply for a state Supreme Court vacancy last year. But he abandoned that bid at the last moment to instead join the Lee administration after Lang Wiseman decided to return to the private sector (Wiseman, incidentally, has decided against applying for AG).
Skrmetti is a Harvard law graduate who worked for the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department before serving as an assistant U.S. attorney in Memphis from 2011 to 2014. While later working at Butler Snow, Skrmetti was a member of the legal advisory board for the Beacon Center, the conservative think tank and advocacy group. Hired as the No. 2 position in the AG’s office in 2018, he spearheaded the state’s efforts to negotiate a $26 billion national settlement with opioid producers and distributors.
Schmid, a 2008 state Supreme Court applicant, defended Rep. Eddie Mannis against an effort to have him stripped of his narrow GOP primary win in 2020. He also served on the Tennessee Commission on Practical Government in 1995.
The deadline to apply for AG was noon Friday. The other applicants are:
— Donald Cochran, former U.S. attorney for the middle district of Tennessee.
— Jerome Cochran, a former state representative and administrative law judge.
— Mike Dunavant, former U.S. attorney for the western district of Tennessee.
— Bill Young, executive director of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance.
Public interviews of finalists are scheduled to be conducted on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9.
High court relents: AG applicant list released
The state Supreme Court is now releasing the names of applicants to become the next Tennessee attorney general in advance of the deadline on noon Friday. Here is who has submitted their paperwork so far:
— Donald Cochran, former U.S. attorney for the middle district of Tennessee.
— Jerome Cochran, a former state representative and administrative law judge.
— Mike Dunavant, former U.S. attorney for the western district of Tennessee.
— Bill Young, executive director of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance.
Public interviews of finalists are scheduled to be conducted on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9.
Want to know who’s applied for AG? No dice.
Thinking about throwing in your application to become Tennessee’s attorney general for the next eight years but want to know who’s in the running before making up your mind? Think again.
The state Supreme Court’s deadline for applications is noon on Friday. But the high court won’t be releasing any names of hopefuls until afterward. That means filling out extensive paperwork that will be made public upon its submission even if someone seen as a prohibitive favorite has already thrown their hat in the ring (for example, someone like Gov. Bill Lee’s chief operating office Brandon Gibson or former legal counsel Lang Wiseman — neither of whom has publicly said whether they will make a bid).
Other names of potential applicants include former U.S. attorneys Donald Cochran, Mike Dunavant, and Doug Overbey and Registry of Election Finance director Bill Young. Tennessee is the only state where the Supreme Court appoints the attorney general.
Current AG Herbert Slatery isn’t seeking a second term.
Supreme Court formally lifts injunction on voucher program
The state Supreme Court has formally lifted the injunction in place on Gov. Bill Lee’s signature school voucher law since 2019. Lee’s office says it will immediately begin implementing the Education Savings Account program.
According to a statement from Lee:
Today the court removed the final roadblock to getting Memphis and Nashville families additional options for high-quality education. Starting today, we will work to help eligible parents enroll this school year, as we ensure Tennessee families have the opportunity to choose the school that they believe is best for their child.
The case now heads back to Chancery Court for further proceedings, but Nashville Chancellor Anne Martin, who issued to the original ruling, will be joined by two further jurists under a new law requiring a panel of three elected judges to preside over cases challenging state laws. The other two are Circuit Judges Tammy Harrington of Blount County and Valerie Smith of Shelby County. Both were first appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.
