Nigh Seen Creeder remarks that the news of TN Supreme Court Chief Justice Barker’s retirement is “Bad f***in’ news for Tennessee Constitutionalists.”

Upon Barker being replaced, Governor Bredesen will have chosen four of Tennessee’s five Supreme Court justices. Which makes the current controversy regarding Tennessee’s Judicial Selection process all the more salient. Republican leader Ron Ramsey has proposed several changes to the system, one of which allows the governor to choose from up to two five-candidate slates (under the system in place, the slates consist of three candidates and a person cannot be re-considered if s/he is rejected by the governor on the first of two slates).

Although I think that any system short of contested elections violates our state’s constitution, it’s difficult to quibble with reform proposals that bring the politics of selecting Tennessee judges into the sunlight. Here’s a website (www.tennplandebate.com) with information (pro and con) on the issue.