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Who Judges The Judges?

Some Tennessee lawmakers are seeking greater control of the disciplinary body overseeing the state's judiciary.

A Tennessee legislative committee has concluded the state's Court of the Judiciary, which oversees disciplinary hearings for judges, warrants comprehensive reform, The Tennessean reports.

Lawmakers hope to revive legislation in January that would reduce the Court of the Judiciary from 16 to 12 members and lower the number of judges sitting on the panel from 10 to five. Of equal importance, they propose having the speakers of the House and Senate appoint the judges, rather than the state Supreme Court, as it now the case.

"Hopefully, we can make our members understand from these hearings ... that it's serious, and not just to take the word of their hometown judges that there is no problem when there is a problem," state Senator Mae Beavers, who introduced a similar bill in the last legislative session, told the Tennessean.

Another lawmaker told the newspaper that having judges appoint judges to judge judges represented a "conflict of interest."

One Court of Criminal Appeals judge disagreed, however, telling The Tennessean it would be a mistake to remove the judiciary from the appointment process. Judge Jeff Bivins said, because of the complicated nature of the Court of the Judiciary's work, mistakes could be made involving due process and the appeals process.

Dylan Scott is a GOVERNING staff writer.
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