Sundquist names his court

By Liz Murray Garrigan

Benjamin Hooks, retired executive director of the NAACP, is among five attorneys Gov. Don Sundquist appointed to a special state Supreme Court this week.

In addition to Hooks, who is from Memphis, Sundquist’s appointees include former state Sen. Don Arnold of Johnson City; Nashvillian Ames Davis, chairman of the law firm Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis; former Hamilton County district attorney Gary Gerbitz of Chattanooga; and Jeanie Todd, an attorney in private practice in Jackson.

Temporarily replacing the regular court, the gubernatorial appointees will decide the fate of a lawsuit challenging the system by which Tennessee’s appellate judges are now elected. Because the suit will affect any future reelection bids by current Supreme Court justices, the five judges have recused themselves from the case.

The suit is being brought by Nashville attorneys John Jay Hooker and Bob DeLaney, who claim the state’s present system of electing appellate judges is unconstitutional. That system, known as the “Tennessee Plan,” allows the state’s appellate judges to keep their jobs by running unopposed in “retention” elections. Hooker and DeLaney argue that the 29 judgeships, like any other elected offices, should be open to any qualified opponents.

The governor made the appointments on Tuesday, but Hooker and DeLaney still planned to appear before U.S. District Judge Robert Echols on Wednesday, claiming that they were being denied a fair and speedy resolution to their suit.

The two attorneys planned to ask for federal intervention, saying Sundquist had failed to act swiftly in naming the special court. They want the matter resolved in time for qualified attorneys—including themselves—to run in the Aug. 6 statewide primary.

Having passed one more hurdle in his ongoing campaign to reform Tennessee’s judicial elections, Hooker says he now hopes the special court “will act immediately so the people can get a decision.”

Dogged determinations

The National Animal Control Association (NACA) was expected to release its audit of Metro’s animal-control operations to Metro Council on Tuesday.

The NACA report, which includes a host of suggestions, is highly critical of the way Nashville deals with stray animals. It says the Bordeaux animal-control facility is “not adequate” and recommends that Metro construct a new animal shelter “within the very near future.”

The report also says that Metro’s current plan, which places animal-control operations under the Metro Health Department, isn’t working. The audit does not directly cite Health Department director Dr. Stephanie Bailey, who has been harshly criticized for her apparent lack of interest in improving Metro’s animal-control operations. However, NACA does recommend that Metro hire better qualified employees to run its animal-control programs.

Mayor Phil Bredesen has suggested privatizing Metro’s animal-control services, but the report warns against that action, saying, “Davidson County may be better served by pursuing other means of service delivery, including abandoning the current operation and building a new program from the ground up.”

On the job market

Billy Fields, top aide to Juvenile Court Judge Andy Shookhoff, whose days on the bench are numbered, is being considered for a $50,000 staff position on Metro’s new Tornado Recovery Board.

Mayor Phil Bredesen created the agency last week to identify and recommend solutions to problems associated with damage caused by the tornadoes that swept through Nashville in April. The agency will be under the direction of a 19-member board.

Shookhoff was defeated in his bid for reelection on May 5. His challenger, Betty Adams, will take over leadership of Davidson County’s Juvenile Court after the Aug. 6 county general election.

Bells for Bart

Sixth District Congressman Bart Gordon’s days on the singles circuit are over. In a June 27 ceremony in the Prayer Room of the U.S. Capitol, the 49-year-old Democrat married 35-year-old Leslie Baker Peyton, a managing director of Korn/Ferry International, a firm that specializes in executive recruiting.

Gordon’s marriage leaves Tennessee’s 11-member congressional delegation with only three bachelors—Republican U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, Fourth District Republican Congressman Van Hilleary, and Ninth District Democrat Harold Ford Jr.

Gordon is seeking election to his eighth term in the U.S. House this year.

Call Liz at 244-7989, ext. 406, or e-mail her at liz@nashscene.com.

Call Liz at 244-7989, ext. 406, or e-mail her at liz@nashscene.com.