NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The Tennessee Supreme Court held public interviews for the six applicants in the process to select the next attorney general on Monday.
“The applicants were all remarkable, experienced, and gracious in their answers during a robust interview process,” Chief Justice Roger A. Page said in a statement. “The applicant pool is outstanding. This is an extremely important decision for our state, and the Court thanks all of the applicants for fielding our questions.”
The atmosphere in the room was extremely respectful as well as collegial between the applicants. Several applicants sat with each other during the process, while others sat with their families.
The justices used a collegial and respectful tone with the applicants as they asked questions and there were several moments that included good-natured laughter.
The questions were wide-ranging. The applicants were asked questions by the justices that include how they view the role of attorney general, the role partisanship ought to play in doing the job, what their strengths are, and how they handled failure in the past.
The Court said that it will continue the selection process on Tuesday.
The applicants are: Former U.S. Attorney and Belmont University College of Law Professor Donald Q. Cochran Jr.; Administrative Law Judge for the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office Jerome Cochran; former U.S. Attorney and Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Chief Investigative Counsel David Michael Dunavant; Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz P.C. managing shareholder R. Culver Schmid; General Counsel to Governor Bill Lee, Jonathan Thomas Skrmetti; and Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Executive Director William Edwin “Bill” Young.
Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales spoke in support of Donald Q. Cochran. Gonzales has served as dean of the Belmont University School of Law since 2014.
The introductions and interviews were conducted in alphabetical order.
The public hearings were conducted in downtown Nashville at the Tennessee Supreme Court Building and the hearing included 10-minute introductory comments by the six applicants and extensive questioning of each by the five justices.
The public hearing continued was livestreamed and can be viewed on the court’s YouTube page.
Chief Justice Page concluded Monday’s hearings saying in part, “Let me thank all the applicants for applying for this job. The application was and is formidable on purpose. I appreciate you spending the day with us and you all have exhibited excellent performances here. You all are good candidates. I assure you that we take responsibility under the Tennessee Constitution very seriously to select the best candidate. You’ve made our job very difficult.”
The Tennessee attorney general and reporter serves an eight-year term, beginning September 1, 2022.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR, Twitter, Truth Social, and Parler.
Photo “Tennessee Supreme Court” by Thomas R Machnitzki. CC BY-SA 3.0.
