In a press statement, the Tennessee Supreme Court announced the details of application and selection process in the search for Tennessee’s next attorney general.
“The Tennessee Supreme Court will open the application period for the position of State Attorney General and Reporter on July 15, 2022. Under the state constitution, the Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter is appointed by the state Supreme Court and serves an eight-year term. The term for the new Attorney General will begin September 1, 2022,” said the Court in a statement.
Tennessee Attorney General Herb Slatery is not seeking reappointment. His term ends on August 31, 2022.
The Court’s statement continued, noting that applications are due by Friday, July 29 and there will be public hearings and candidate interviews on August 8 and 9.
“Interested candidates must submit an application by 12:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 29, 2022. The Supreme Court will hold a public hearing to interview candidates on August 8 and 9, 2022 at the Nashville Supreme Court Building. The hearings will be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page,” the Court said.
Attached to the press statement is a “summary of applicant process instructions.”
On the topic of public hearings, it says, “The Court will review the timely submitted complete applications and select those applicants who will continue in the selection process and participate in the public hearing.”
The document does not appear to include an explanation of how the public hearings will be conducted, who can speak at the hearing, whether the public can ask questions, or how long the candidates will be given to speak.
According to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s statement:
As the chief legal officer of the state, the Attorney General and Reporter represents state officers and agencies and manages a staff of approximately 340 employees working in five offices across Tennessee. The Office of the Attorney General represents the State in criminal appeals and defends the State in civil actions in state and federal court. The Office also has the authority to investigate and prosecute civil actions for environmental enforcement, antitrust violations, Medicaid fraud, and consumer fraud. The Office has four major divisions – Civil Litigation (Civil Law, Environmental, Real Property & Transportation), Criminal Justice (Criminal Appeals, Federal Habeas Corpus, Law Enforcement & Special Prosecutions), State Services and Litigation (Education & Employment, Financial, Health Care, Public Interest, Tax) and Public Protection (Bankruptcy, Consumer Protection, Tobacco Enforcement).
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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 Reading Tom. CC BY 2.0.
