TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Report: 3 Judges Won't Receive Retention Endorsement

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Nov 12, 2013

The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission is set to recommend three appellate court judges not be retained in the 2014 elections, reports Tom Humphrey in his Humphrey on the Hill blog for Knoxnews. The three, according to Humphrey, are Court of Appeals Judge Andy Bennett and Court of Criminal Appeals Judges Camille R. McMullen and Jerry L. Smith. The commission is set to meet Dec. 6 to make its final decision. Meanwhile, Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade is challenging the commission’s position, saying all three judges deserve new terms. Charles D. Susano Jr. of Knoxville, presiding judge of the Court of Appeals, also spoke out in support of one of the three saying he has worked extensively with Judge Bennett. Others are questioning the comission's partisan leanings -- all of the rejected jurists have Democratic backgrounds while almost all the commissioners are Republicans. The one commissioner who spoke on the record to Humphrey told him that the judges slated not to receive endorsements had poor survey results and slow turnaround times in issuing rulings and came across as nonchalant about their shortcomings during interviews with the commission.

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