In the upcoming August election  , the most important election is whether to retain the Tennessee Supreme Court Justices . Why is the retention election important ? The battle over the current members of the Supreme Court is really an attack on our system of judicial fairness. Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey has declared war on the judicial system. Along with Mr. Ramsey and the obscene amounts of cash from radical special interest groups , deceptive ads fill the airways.

Mr. Ramsey paints them as liberals even when they support the death penalty 90 % of the time. I have read the opinions written by Justice Clark , Justice Lee , and Justice Wade . I would not even consider them remotely liberal.

The real issue is the power and influence that Lt. Governor wants to wield in this state. Ramsey hates the court because their role is a check on the power of the legislature . Guess what happens if the Justices are not retained. Some lawyers will be appointed. not elected. then we are stuck with them for eight years.

 Ramsey is dissatisfied as to the appointment of the State’s attorney general Bob Cooper who has done a fine job as Tennessee’s lawyer . Ramsey wants to con Tennessee voters with deceptive ads much like senator Joe McCarthy did when he claimed certain folks were communists. In Tennessee , calling a person a liberal is akin to calling them a communist or worse .

I am not happy with every decision  made by the Tennessee Supreme Court  especially the erosion of the Fourth Amendment . However , the need for an independent judicial system trumps Mr. Ramsey’s power grab. The Tennessean endorsed that the Justices be retained along with most lawyers. Maybe they know something about the fairness of the court.