The Tennessee Plan is a system used to appoint and elect appellate court judges in Tennessee. The system attempts to limit the influence of partisan politics over the state's judiciary. It is largely patterned after the Missouri Plan, and an earlier version in Tennessee was called the Modified Missouri Plan.
The Tennessee Plan provides that appellate court vacancies will be filled by the governor of Tennessee from a panel of three nominees submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commission. At the next general election and at the end of every eight-year term, voters decide whether each judge shall be retained through a yes-no election.
This system applies to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The next regular election for state judges will be in 2014.
Read more about Tennessee Plan: Process, History, Viewpoints
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