Finalists picked for spot on court
Memphis applicants fail to win panel's approval
By Richard Locker
Contact
July 22, 2005
 Mark Humphrey/Associated Press Jinliang Cai, (from left) Cynthia Magallon and Debra Par, representatives of Memphis's immigrant communities, protest the consideration of Judge Robert Childers for an opening on the Tennessee Supreme Court Thursday in Nashville. |
NASHVILLE -- A state commission nominated an appellate judge, a trial judge and the administrator of the state court system Thursday night for the first opening on the Tennessee Supreme Court in seven years.
Gov. Phil Bredesen now must appoint one of the three or ask the Judicial Selection Commission for three more.
Neither of the two Memphians who applied for the post is among the three.
The nominees are:
Cornelia A. Clark, 54, of Franklin, administrative director of the court system since 1999 and a former circuit judge.
William C. Koch Jr., 57, of Nashville, a state Court of Appeals judge since 1984, former deputy state attorney general and former counsel to then-governor Lamar Alexander.
John A. Turnbull, 62, of Livingston, a circuit judge since 1989 in the Cookeville area.
The governor's spokeswoman, Lydia Lenker, said Bredesen has no deadline for the appointment and will be "deliberative" given its importance. Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota III is retiring from the high court bench Sept. 2 after 25 years.
The new appointee will be on the August 2006 statewide ballot for a "yes" or "no" retention vote with the other four justices for an eight-year term.
After a daylong hearing, mostly behind closed doors, the commission chose its nominees from eight applicants that included two Memphians: Circuit Court Judge Robert L. 'Butch' Childers, 57, and lawyer George T. 'Buck' Lewis III, 49.
Childers received the only public opposition at the hearing. Representatives of Memphis's immigrant communities urged the panel not to nominate him because of his 2004 ruling in the emotion-charged Anna Mae He custody case.
 Robert Childers |
In his ruling, now on appeal, Childers terminated the parental rights of Chinese nationals Shaoqiang 'Jack' He and Qin Luo 'Casey' He of Memphis to their daughter and granted custody to Jerry and Louise Baker.
"We feel Judge Childers is unsuitable for the justice's position," said Jinliang Cai of the Greater Memphis United Chinese Association, who cited the He ruling.
Cynthia Magallon of the Greater Memphis Immigrant Task Force told the panel that "the immigrant community in Memphis has lost faith in Judge Childers's ability to be fair."
A spokeswoman for the commission, Sue Allison, said Childers would not be able to comment publicly on the criticism because the He case is still pending.
One of the three Memphis lawyers who spoke to the commission on his behalf commended his work and fairness.
"I've tried cases in front of him as a plaintiff and as a defendant. He always applies the facts of the case. He's always prepared. He's always been fair," said attorney Mark A. Allen.
Because the deliberations were confidential, it was unclear whether the opposition had any impact on the commission's decision.
The 17-member panel questioned the applicants in private.
Contact Nashville bureau chief Richard Locker at (615) 255-4923.
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