Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2014

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Three judges on the Tennessee Supreme Court were up for retention on August 7, 2014. Chief Justice Gary R. Wade and justices Cornelia Clark and Sharon Lee were all retained.

Tennessee State Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey (R) led a campaign opposing the justices' retention, and the justices responded by organizing a joint retention campaign.

Prior to this election, only one Tennessee Supreme Court justice had ever been voted out of office during a retention election—Justice Penny White lost a retention campaign in 1996.

Candidates and election results

Tennessee Supreme Court retention election, 2014
Sharon Lee	Incumbent: Yes Retention vote: 56.0%A
Gary R. Wade	Incumbent: Yes Retention vote: 56.6%A
Cornelia Clark	Incumbent: Yes Retention vote: 55.3%A

Retention support and opposition

Support

Campaign ad by Keep Tennessee Courts Fair

The supreme court justices formed a campaign group called Keep Tennessee's Supreme Court Fair (or simply "Keep Tennessee Courts Fair") to allow them to share resources and raise money to fund their retention campaigns.

Chief Justice Wade argued against the anti-retention campaign, saying, "Making the right decision is hard enough without looking around the courtroom trying to figure out who are Democrats and who are Republicans."

The Tennessee Watchdog reported that Keep Tennessee's Supreme Court Fair was supported by Democrats. It said that Carol Andrews, the campaign's communications director, had worked for the former U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford and former Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle--both Democrats. It also said that campaign manager Brenda Gadd had also worked for Democratic politicians and organizations.

Andrews said that group's goal was "to make sure that our constitution is upheld, and that our courts remain impartial, period."

Justice at Stake issued a press release in support of the justices. The group had a stated goal to "protect courts from politics and special interest influencers" by supporting merit selection over elections in states.

The Tennessee State Bar conducted a poll of its members asking for their recommendation of justices Connie Clark, Sharon Lee and Gary Wade. The organization did not say how many members were polled or what the margin of error for the poll was. At the time of the poll, approximately 70 percent of lawyers in the state were members of the bar association.

The poll showed each justice receiving ratings of about 75 percent highly recommended, 17 percent recommended, and 7 percent not recommended. The table below shows a detailed breakdown of the poll numbers.

Tennessee Bar Association Poll

Justice:	Highly Recommended:	Recommended:	Not Recommended:
Justice Cornelia Clark	74.4%	18.4%	7.2%
Justice Sharon Lee	75.9%	17.3%	6.8%
Chief justice Gary Wade	76.7%	17.0%	6.3%

Opposition

Tennessee State Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey (R) and the Tennesseans for Judicial Accountability (TNJA) led a campaign in opposition to retaining the justices. Ramsey said in an interview with the Nashville Scene that he would prefer that all the state's justices were Republicans. He went on to say, "...if you could have fair impartial Democrat judges, and fair and impartial Republican judges, which I believe you can, I'd pick the Republican's." If the judges were not retained, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) would have been responsible for appointing replacements, and retention opponents believed Haslam would choose Republican justices.

TNJA was formed in 2013 by two Republican lawyers, Grant Everett Starrett and J. Ammon Smartt, with the stated goal of "promot[ing] needed improvements in the judicial system to achieve the fair and impartial administration of justice within an independent judiciary." The group issued a press release in June 2014 highlighting what it called the "seven deadly Democrat sins of the judicial candidates." It listed a number of the justices' Democratic connections and concluded with a quote from Starrett, who said, "[T]his is just the tip of the iceberg for why Tennesseans should vote to replace them in August."

Campaign finance

In October 2014, the Times Free Press reported that a combined total of $2.4 million was spent by both sides in the 2014 Tennessee Supreme Court retention elections. The money raised by the candidates' campaigns directly totaled $1,142,723 as of October 10, 2014.

Contributions

Total contributions received by candidates in 2014:

Candidate	Total contributions
Cornelia Clark	$319,681.00
Sharon Lee	$320,777.00
Gary R. Wade	$502,265.99

Satellite spending

The Commercial Appeal reported on August 1, 2014, that Ron Ramsey's political action committee had spent $425,000 for the campaign opposing retention.

Justice at Stake reported that over $1 million in satellite spending was raised leading up to retention elections. The breakdown was as follows:

In support of retention (not including contributions to the justices themselves):

• Tennesseans for Fair Courts: $46,000
• Various TV advertisements (as reported by the FCC): $562,000
• The Tennessee Democratic Party spent $300,000 on behalf of the justices, according to Chairman Roy Herron.

Against retention:

• Tennessee Forum: $426,000 ($425,000 from Ron Ramsey's political action committee)
• Republican State Leadership Committee: $196,000 (on direct mail advertising)
• Various TV advertisements (as reported by the FCC): $425,000

Endorsements

The three justices received endorsements from the following groups and individuals:

• Nashville Bar Association
• U.S. District Court Judge Robert Echols, retired
• Edward M. Yarborough, former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee
• Tennessee Court of Appeals Chief Justice Frank Drowota
• Tennessee Court of Appeals Lew Conner, retired
• Memphis Mayor A. C. Wharton

Editorials in the following publications also supported retention:

• The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro
• The Chattanooga Times Free Press
• The Tennessean
• Jackson Sun
• Johnson City Press
• Commercial Appeal, Memphis

Noteworthy events

Complaints against evaluation commission

See also: JP Election Brief: Runoffs, retentions and a special election

Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives published an open letter criticizing the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC), the appointed body tasked with making recommendations as to whether incumbent judges may be allowed to stand for an unopposed retention election. The letter was written by Majority Leader Gerald McCormick (R) and signed by seven other Republican representatives.

The letter quoted a Wall Street Journal article accusing the election system of having "transferred power to state bar associations while shielding the selection process from public scrutiny." It said the system was "dominated by partisan politics where only a chosen few have any input into who rules the powerful judicial branch of Tennessee's government."

John Jay Hooker, an independent candidate for governor and three others filed a complaint with the Board of Judicial Conduct against three members of the commission. The complaint alleged that the commission members were in violation of a court order by issuing recommendations and evaluations of appellate judges. The complaint followed an earlier, successful suit brought by Hooker against Ron Ramsey and others that alleged the JPEC had been seated in violation of the statutory requirement that members be represented in proportion to the state's race and gender. Though Tennessee's population was 52 percent women at the time, only two of the nine members were women. The seven remaining members chosen were white men. Judge Hamilton V. Gayden ruled in January 2014 that JPEC's composition was invalid and violated the state and federal constitution's equal protection and due process clauses.

Gayden did not enjoin the JPEC, however, and the commission continued to meet and issue determinations that allowed all 22 appellate judges to appear on the August 7 retention election ballots. Hooker's complaint alleged that in approving those judges for retention elections, the commission violated judicial rules of conduct.

In an editorial that appeared in The Tennessean, Jonathan Steen of the Tennessee Bar Association took issue with Hooker's complaint, as well as with other claims that questioned the legality of the August 7 elections. He noted that Hooker's earlier suit, which formed the basis for his later complaint, was under appeal and would be decided in the courts. He wrote, "While the appeal is pending, the judge in that case has ruled that the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission's 'findings carry the full effect of the law for which the legislature intended." Therefore, Steen argued, the JPEC's recommendation to retain all 22 appellate judges did not violate the code of conduct.

Complaint filed against Tennessee justices for campaigning together

George Scoville, a writer for the libertarian blog United Liberty, filed a complaint with the Board of Judicial Conduct on June 16, 2014, which accused the justices of violating the Code of Conduct by campaigning for each another.

Specifically, Scoville's complaint argued that:

• The justices' use, on their campaign materials, of photographs of the court building and themselves at work is in violation of the rule which prohibits the "use court staff, facilities, or other court resources in a campaign for judicial office."
• The use of the court chambers for an interview with NewsChannel5 about the justices' fight to be retained is also in violation of the same rule.
• The organization Keep Tennessee's Supreme Court Fair, which is funded by the justices' campaign committees, is an "unauthorized political organization." Thus, the justices' actions regarding that group--speaking on its behalf, publicly endorsing each other through it, using their campaign resources to fund it and accepting donations through it--are in violation of Rule 4.1(A)(2),(3),(4), and (8) (see below for the text of those rules).
• Because the organization mentioned above is organized by Democrats, the justices' participation in it violates a rule that justices should be free from political influence.

The complaint primarily highlights Canon 4, Rule 4.1 of the state's Code of Judicial Conduct. That rule is included below:

Rule 4.1 Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General

(A) Except as permitted by law, or by RJCs 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4, a judge or a judicial candidate shall not:

(1) act as a leader in, or hold an office in, a political organization;

(2) make speeches on behalf of a political organization;

(3) publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for any public office;

(4) solicit funds for, pay an assessment to, or make a contribution to a political organization or candidate for public office;

(5) [intentionally omitted];

(6) [intentionally omitted];

(7) [intentionally omitted];

(8) personally solicit or accept campaign contributions other than through a campaign committee authorized by RJC 4.4;

(9) use or permit the use of campaign contributions for the private benefit of the judge, the candidate, or others;

(10) use court staff, facilities, or other court resources in a campaign for judicial office;

(11) knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the truth, make any false or misleading statement;

(12) make any statement that would reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter pending or impending in any court; or

(13) in connection with cases, controversies, or issues that are likely to come before the court, make pledges, promises, or commitments that are inconsistent with the impartial performance of the adjudicative duties of judicial office.

(B) A judge or judicial candidate shall take reasonable measures to ensure that other persons do not undertake, on behalf of the judge or judicial candidate, any activities prohibited under paragraph (A).

In correspondence with Ballotpedia, Scoville explained that he was filing the complaint based on their campaign methods, and not specifically because he opposed their retention. "[A]nyone who decries the influence of money in politics usually raises or spends a lot of money in politics, and that's disingenuous. My complaint is designed to make the justices and their surrogates campaign more honestly," he said.

Opposition document released by Ron Ramsey

See also: JP Election Brief: Candidate attacks

Tennessee State Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey (R) circulated a document that criticized Justices Clark, Wade, and Lee, describing them as "soft on crime" and "anti-business."

The document also highlighted specific decisions made by the justices during their time on the bench. Because judicial ethics rules prohibit judges from discussing past rulings, the justices were unable to publicly respond. During a meeting with reporters, Ramsey defended his decision to share the document, stating that it was his role to present his perspective and that it was up to supporters of the justices to present the opposing view.

Former court of appeals judge Lew Conner criticized Ramsey’s actions, stating that the document focused selectively on decisions that portrayed the justices negatively.

William "Mickey" Barker (R), a former chief justice of the state supreme court, shared similar concerns and referred to Ramsey’s efforts as "an attack on the entire judicial system." He added, "We have three branches of government. Two of those branches are political branches—the legislative and the executive. And the judicial branch is non-political...[I’m] very disappointed that our present legislative branch is apparently seeking to dominate all three...It would be a real shame to see that occur."

Ramsey disagreed with the criticism that he had politicized the retention process. In an interview with the Nashville Scene, he argued that involving voters in retention decisions strengthens the legitimacy of the process. He also said that Tennessee’s judicial selection system was originally developed under Democratic leadership and suggested it has partisan origins despite the nonpartisan structure of the elections. Ramsey stated, "I would like all the justices serving on the state supreme court ... to be Republicans, I'll be right up front about that."

See also

• Tennessee judicial elections, 2014
• Tennessee Supreme Court

External links

• Tennessee Department of State
• Tennessee Supreme Court