Article VI, Sections 3 and 4, of the Tennessee Constitution state that the supreme court justices and the state trial judges and the judges of the inferior courts “shall be elected by the qualified voters.” This is part of the system of checks and balances so that the voters, the citizens, will have a say in whether or not a person should be a judge or remain a judge.
So why then is former Chancery Court Judge D.J. Alissandratos still trying cases as a “special judge.” Alissandratos did not run for re-election in the 2006 judicial elections; his profile on Resolute Systems, LLC, states that he retired as judge in 2006.
As stated in the post regarding the Anna Mae He international child custody case, Alissandratos recused himself from the case after the Hes and others filed complaints against him with the Court of the Judiciary. Here is a link to the He’s complaint, which was filed in 2004.
http://www.parentalrightsandjustice.com/index.cgi?ctype=Page;site_id=1;objid=24;curloc=Page:30
Again, why is Alissandratos still being appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court as a “special judge” to handle cases. Here are some of his cases (just a few of many):
JEFFREY COTTON v. GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY ET AL.
No. W2006-02291-SC-WCM-WC
SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE, SPECIAL WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS PANEL, AT JACKSON
May 28, 2008, Filed
JUDGES: DONALD P. HARRIS, SR. J., concurring, in part, and dissenting, in part. D.J. ALISSANDRATOS, SP. J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JANICE M. HOLDER, J., joined, and DONALD P. HARRIS, SR. J., concurred in part and dissented in part.
OPINION BY: D. J. ALISSANDRATOS
LEE NORA HUNTER v. WILLIAMS-SONOMA DIRECT, INC. ET AL.
No. W2006-02590-SC-WCM-WC
SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE, SPECIAL WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS PANEL, AT JACKSON
April 3, 2008, Filed
JUDGES: DONALD P. HARRIS, SR. J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JANICE M. HOLDER, J., and D. J. ALISSANDRATOS, SP. J., joined.
OPINION BY: DONALD P. HARRIS
SANDRA DELLER v. FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION
No. W2007-00668-SC-WCM-WC
SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE, SPECIAL WORKERS' COMPENSATION APPEALS PANEL, AT JACKSON
April 1, 2008, Filed
JUDGES: D.J. ALISSANDRATOS, SP.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JANICE M. HOLDER, J., and DONALD P. HARRIS, SR.J., joined.
OPINION BY: D. J. ALISSANDRATOS
Not only is Alissandratos consistently appointed as a “special judge”, other former judges, such as Donald Harris, are consistently appointed as “senior judges.” They are former judges who decided not to run for re-election and not be selected ‘by the qualified voters.” So why do they still get to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court to handle cases?
There are provisions under Tennessee law for the use of former judges as senior judges and special judges if the need arises due to conflicts of interest and case backlogs; however, the first resort in such cases is to use another duly elected judge within the judicial district or from another judicial district by interchange. Why isn’t this being done? I dare say there is no shortage of judges in Tennessee.
In the following, the internal quotes are from Title 17 of the Tennessee Code Annotated:
The unnecessary use of former, non-elected judges would seem to violate the Tennessee Constitution. It also adds a financial burden on all of the taxpayers because these former, non-elected judges are being “paid the same salary for the time served and receive the same expense allowance as are allowed the regular judges.” So Alissandratos still receives a judges pay for being a “special judge” even though he has not been elected.
In the case of Harris and other “senior judges,” who are former, non-elected judges as well, they receive “a salary calculated on the amount of time the senior justice or judge actually worked.” They also are “provided with suitable office space and equipment, secretarial and research assistance and a law library similar to that provided to active justices and judges.”
Why does this go on? Could it be judicial politics, good ole boys, cronyism? All I can say is that wasting taxpayer dollars for “special judges” and “senior judges” who are not elected “by the qualified voters” must STOP!
No comments:
Post a Comment