Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey has an important column on statenewsshot.com documenting how Tennessee’s so-called “merit” selection scheme has rigged the state’s judicial selection process in favor of powerful special interest groups and moved the entire process behind closed doors, out of public view.

Currently special interests control the appointment process. Although I have eight appointments to the [judicial nominating] commission, six of those – by law – must come from the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association … and the District Attorneys General Conference. This means that 75 percent of those who pick our judicial nominees are selected by special interests in the legal community.

What would you expect from a commission dominated by special interests? Raw partisan politics. Beginning in 2006, Ramsey notes, the commission tried to force Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen to accept its nominees even after he had already rejected them.

The commission had twice submitted the name of a favorite son and former head of the Tennessee Democratic Party – after Bredesen made it clear he wished to have qualified minority candidates on any slate he received.

So much for “merit” being the only concern of judicial selection commissions and taking “politics” out of the judicial selection process.

Both Gov. Bredesen and Lt. Gov. Ramsey fought to make the commission more accountable and more open – yet lawyer-dominated committees in the legislature blocked any reform. But Lt. Gov. Ramsey pledges to continue the fight.

The current judicial selection process is a perfect storm of special interest control, closed government and lack of accountability. I intend to continue the fight to reform the commission in 2009.

The best reform, of course, would be to take judicial selection away from special interests altogether and give it back to the people – which is where the wise authors of Tennessee’s Constitution put it in the first place.