Tennessee Supreme Court
Encyclopedia
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court
of the state
of Tennessee
. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.
Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general
is directly elected or appointed by the governor
or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the Tennessee Attorney General
.
, adopted in 1870, calls for five justices, of which at least one but not more than two must be from each of the state's three Grand Divisions
(East Tennessee
, Middle Tennessee
, and West Tennessee
) in order to prevent regional bias.
Additionally, the court is required to meet in Knoxville
, Nashville
and Jackson
, also to prevent regional bias. In recent years this provision has been regarded as permissive rather than restrictive, and the court has also met in other cities throughout the state as part of a legal education
project for high school
students.
The justices serve eight-year terms and can succeed themselves. The office of chief justice
rotates among the justices. Justices are required to recuse themselves in cases in which they may have a personal interest; the whole court once had to step aside and a case be heard by a special court appointed by the governor, this occurring when the court itself became the subject of litigation
, as described below.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has no original jurisdiction
. Other than in cases of worker's compensation, which have traditionally been appealed directly to it from the trial court
, it only hears appeals of civil cases which have been heard by the Court of Appeals
, and of criminal cases that have been heard by the Court of Criminal Appeals
.
Originally, justices were elected by the Tennessee General Assembly
and held lifetime tenures.
However, in 1853, the state constitution
was amended to set judicial term lengths at eight years (even with changes in the election process, the tenure has remained at eight years ever since) and to provide that all judges (including supreme court justices) would be elected by the people. Under this arrangement, a justice could enter office either through gubernatorial appointment (to fill a vacancy) or by winning a partisan
election. Either way, the justice would have to stand for reelection during the next general state election.
However, in 1971, a statute was passed that modified this process at the appellate level. Under a modified version of the Missouri Plan
, appellate judges (including supreme court justices) would only be subjected to a "Yes/No" retention vote rather than partisan opponents. Thus it became impossible to become an appellate judge without being appointed by the governor.
The revised statue was subject to litigation. In the case of Higgins v. Dunn
(1973), the Court held that the retention elections were constitutional, as the constitution only specified that judges were to be elected but did not specify the specific type of elections the General Assembly had to enact in doing so. Justice Allison Humphries, in his dissent, opined that the supreme court justices approving the constitutionality of the Modified Missouri Plan had, "like Esau
, sold their soul for a mess of pottage" and had made the judicial branch subordinate to the legislative branch.
Partially as a result of the decision, in 1974, the statute was revised to remove Tennessee Supreme Court justices from the plan. However, in 1994 the plan (now called the "Tennessee Plan
") was revised and once again extended to supreme court justices.
Once again, the statute was challenged, in the case of DeLaney v. Thompson (1998). The plaintiffs argued that the process was not an "election
" in the sense envisioned by the writers of the state constitution, and that the court in Higgins v. Dunn had been incompetent to render a decision due to their interest in the subject matter of the case. DeLaney v. Thompson was appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court; unlike in Higgins v. Dunn, this time the whole court recused itself. The Governor was thus required to appoint an entire "special Supreme Court" to hear this case; it refused to rule on the constitutionality of the Tennessee Plan, and instead remanded the case on a technicality.
, only one member of the Tennessee Supreme Court has ever been removed under the Tennessee Plan. Former Justice Penny White
was removed in 1996 in a campaign reminiscent of that used a few years prior in California
against former Chief Justice Rose Bird
, and for largely the same reason: White's apparent opposition to the death penalty.
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....
of the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.
Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general
State Attorney General
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those...
is directly elected or appointed by the governor
Governor (United States)
In the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state or insular territory, not directly subordinate to the federal authorities, but the political and ceremonial head of the state.-Role and powers:...
or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the Tennessee Attorney General
Tennessee Attorney General
The Tennessee Attorney General is a position within the Tennessee state government. The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for Tennessee. Unlike most states, the Tennessee Attorney General is an officer of the judicial branch, being appointed by the justices of the...
.
Structure
The current Tennessee State ConstitutionTennessee State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Tennessee defines the form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules of the U.S. State of Tennessee....
, adopted in 1870, calls for five justices, of which at least one but not more than two must be from each of the state's three Grand Divisions
Grand Divisions (Tennessee)
The Grand Divisions are geographic, cultural, and legally recognized regions, each constituting roughly one-third of the State of Tennessee. The Grand Divisions are represented prominently by the three stars on the flag of Tennessee...
(East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
, Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
, and West Tennessee
West Tennessee
West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the State of Tennessee. Of the three, it is the one that is most sharply defined geographically. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River on the west and the Tennessee River on the east...
) in order to prevent regional bias.
Additionally, the court is required to meet in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
, also to prevent regional bias. In recent years this provision has been regarded as permissive rather than restrictive, and the court has also met in other cities throughout the state as part of a legal education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
project for high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
students.
The justices serve eight-year terms and can succeed themselves. The office of chief justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
rotates among the justices. Justices are required to recuse themselves in cases in which they may have a personal interest; the whole court once had to step aside and a case be heard by a special court appointed by the governor, this occurring when the court itself became the subject of litigation
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
, as described below.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has no original jurisdiction
Original jurisdiction
The original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision.-France:...
. Other than in cases of worker's compensation, which have traditionally been appealed directly to it from the trial court
Trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...
, it only hears appeals of civil cases which have been heard by the Court of Appeals
Tennessee Court of Appeals
The Tennessee Court of Appeals was created in 1925 by the Tennessee General Assembly as an intermediate appellate court to hear appeals in civil cases from the Tennessee state trial courts....
, and of criminal cases that have been heard by the Court of Criminal Appeals
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
The Court of Criminal Appeals is one of Tennessee's two intermediate appellate courts. It hears trial court appeals in felony and misdemeanor cases, as well as post-conviction petitions. Appeals in civil cases are heard by the Tennessee Court of Appeals....
.
Judicial selection
The method by which Tennessee's supreme court justices are selected has changed significantly over the years.Originally, justices were elected by the Tennessee General Assembly
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...
and held lifetime tenures.
However, in 1853, the state constitution
Tennessee State Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Tennessee defines the form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules of the U.S. State of Tennessee....
was amended to set judicial term lengths at eight years (even with changes in the election process, the tenure has remained at eight years ever since) and to provide that all judges (including supreme court justices) would be elected by the people. Under this arrangement, a justice could enter office either through gubernatorial appointment (to fill a vacancy) or by winning a partisan
Partisan (political)
In politics, a partisan is a committed member of a political party. In multi-party systems, the term is widely understood to carry a negative connotation - referring to those who wholly support their party's policies and are perhaps even reluctant to acknowledge correctness on the part of their...
election. Either way, the justice would have to stand for reelection during the next general state election.
However, in 1971, a statute was passed that modified this process at the appellate level. Under a modified version of the Missouri Plan
Missouri Plan
The Missouri Plan is a method for the selection of judges. It originated in Missouri in 1940, and has been adopted by several states of the United States...
, appellate judges (including supreme court justices) would only be subjected to a "Yes/No" retention vote rather than partisan opponents. Thus it became impossible to become an appellate judge without being appointed by the governor.
The revised statue was subject to litigation. In the case of Higgins v. Dunn
Winfield Dunn
Bryant Winfield Culberson Dunn was the 43rd Governor of Tennessee, from 1971 to 1975.-Biography:Dunn was born in Meridian, Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1950 with a B.B.A., and from the University of Tennessee Medical Units in Memphis in 1955 with a D.D.S. Dunn...
(1973), the Court held that the retention elections were constitutional, as the constitution only specified that judges were to be elected but did not specify the specific type of elections the General Assembly had to enact in doing so. Justice Allison Humphries, in his dissent, opined that the supreme court justices approving the constitutionality of the Modified Missouri Plan had, "like Esau
Esau
Esau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
, sold their soul for a mess of pottage" and had made the judicial branch subordinate to the legislative branch.
Partially as a result of the decision, in 1974, the statute was revised to remove Tennessee Supreme Court justices from the plan. However, in 1994 the plan (now called the "Tennessee Plan
Tennessee Plan
The Tennessee Plan is a system of judicial appointment used in Tennessee. The system attempts to limit the influence of partisan politics over the state's judiciary...
") was revised and once again extended to supreme court justices.
Once again, the statute was challenged, in the case of DeLaney v. Thompson (1998). The plaintiffs argued that the process was not an "election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
" in the sense envisioned by the writers of the state constitution, and that the court in Higgins v. Dunn had been incompetent to render a decision due to their interest in the subject matter of the case. DeLaney v. Thompson was appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court; unlike in Higgins v. Dunn, this time the whole court recused itself. The Governor was thus required to appoint an entire "special Supreme Court" to hear this case; it refused to rule on the constitutionality of the Tennessee Plan, and instead remanded the case on a technicality.
, only one member of the Tennessee Supreme Court has ever been removed under the Tennessee Plan. Former Justice Penny White
Penny J. White
Penny J. White is an American attorney and former judge who is on the faculty of the University of Tennessee College of Law. She was a Tennessee circuit court judge, a member of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, and a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court before being removed from office...
was removed in 1996 in a campaign reminiscent of that used a few years prior in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
against former Chief Justice Rose Bird
Rose Bird
Rose Elizabeth Bird served for 10 years as the 25th Chief Justice of California. She was the first female Justice, and first female Chief Justice, on that court, appointed by then Governor Jerry Brown...
, and for largely the same reason: White's apparent opposition to the death penalty.
Current composition
As of 2010, the justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court were:| Name | Born | Birthplace | Appointed By | Beginning of Active Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary R. Wade | May 31, 1948 | Knox County, Tennessee Knox County, Tennessee Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its 2007 population was estimated at 423,874 by the United States Census Bureau. Its county seat is Knoxville, as it has been since the creation of the county. The county is at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee... |
Phil Bredesen Phil Bredesen Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen Jr. was the 48th Governor of Tennessee, serving from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected Governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to... |
May 30, 2006 |
| Cornelia A. Clark Cornelia A. Clark Cornelia A. "Connie" Clark is an American lawyer who is the current chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court.-Early life and career:... |
September 15, 1950 | Franklin, Tennessee Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:... |
Phil Bredesen Phil Bredesen Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen Jr. was the 48th Governor of Tennessee, serving from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected Governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to... |
September 19, 2005 |
| Sharon Gail Lee Sharon Gail Lee Sharon Gail Lee, born December 8, 1953, is currently a Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court. She was appointed to that body in October 2008. She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her hometown is Madisonville, Tennessee. She has two children, Sarah Alliman and Laura Alliman.Lee is a graduate... |
December 8, 1953 | Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region... |
Phil Bredesen Phil Bredesen Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen Jr. was the 48th Governor of Tennessee, serving from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected Governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to... |
September 29, 2009 |
| Janice M. Holder Janice M. Holder Janice M. Holder is an American judge who is a Tennessee Supreme Court justice and was Chief Justice of Tennessee from 2008 to 2010. She is the first woman ever to hold the chief justice position.-Education:... |
August 29, 1949 | Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802.... |
Don Sundquist Don Sundquist Donald Kenneth Sundquist is a former governor and congressman from Tennessee. A Republican, he served as the 47th Governor of Tennessee from 1995 to 2003... |
December 1996 |
| William C. Koch, Jr. | September 12, 1947 | Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and... |
Phil Bredesen Phil Bredesen Philip Norman "Phil" Bredesen Jr. was the 48th Governor of Tennessee, serving from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected Governor in 2002, and was re-elected in 2006. He previously served as the fourth mayor of Nashville and Davidson County from 1991 to... |
June 15, 2007 |