Photo: Inside the Tennessee Supreme Court building Photo Credit: Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
The Tennessee Supreme Court has decided that it will re-hear arguments regarding Governor Bill Lee’s school voucher program. Chief Justice Roger A. Page signed an order on Friday announcing that the court would sit again on February 24th to hear the case.
“Upon due consideration, and in light of the untimely death of Justice Cornelia A. Clark, this Court has concluded that re-argument will aid the resolution of this appeal,” wrote Page.
The high court lost one of their members earlier this year after the sudden death of Clark. Judge Thomas R. Frierson, II of the Tennessee Court of Appeals has been put forth by the Supreme Court to temporarily fill her position in the panel until a new justice, appointed by the governor can join the bench.
Page cited a Tennessee law he says grants the Supreme Court the ability to appoint judges in a situation such as the court finds itself, in order to resolve a backlog of fill in for a case of incompetency. Page wrote that the decision to tap Frierson is “in the interest of the efficient and orderly administration of justice.”
The court had heard oral arguments on the contentious case back in June but Clark died in September before a ruling could be handed down. The court’s decision to have Frierson join them hints that they are deadlocked and unable to issue a ruling without a tiebreaker.
Lee has three candidates to choose from to fill Clark’s seat, Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Kristi Davis, Associate Solicitor General Sarah Campbell and Court of Appeals Judge William Neal McBrayer were nominated earlier this month by the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments. Once Lee has made his choice, the candidate will face a confirmation vote in the General Assembly due to a 2014 constitutional amendment that requires legislative approval. Once confirmed, justices are then subject to retention elections every eight years.
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Adding another level of complication to the whole process, two of the three candidates for Clark’s position would most likely have to recuse themselves from the case at hand as they have had involvement with it as it made its way to the Supreme Court.
The school voucher program was one of Lee’s top priorities in 2019. An education savings account program, it would have allowed parents to send their children to private schools and have public funds partially pay for it. The legislation narrowly passed in the House and was massively scaled back so as to apply only to Shelby and Davidson counties.
The case now in front of the Tennessee Supreme Court asks whether this law is unconstitutional as it applies to just two counties.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
