Corruption in our state government

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TENNESSEE JUDGES, ATTORNEY GENERAL & CHIEF JUSTICE FAIL CONSTITUTION LAW TEST 

One would think these legal scholars would be knowledgeable in constitutional law but they fail constitutional law test…, and they fail miserably.  Since I have made them aware of their legal blunder and bungling of constitutional law, and thus far they refuse to correct the situation, I can only conclude their conduct is an unlawful usurpation of power, and an intentional alteration of our fundamental form of government. 

Tenn. Const., Art II, § 2 states; “No person or persons belonging to one of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others, ...”

Tenn. Const., Art II, § 26 states; “No judge of any court of law or equity, secretary of state, attorney general, …, shall have a seat in the General Assembly.”

Tenn. Const., Art V, § 1 states: “The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment.”

Tenn. Const., Art VI, § 6 states; “Judges and attorneys for the state may be removed from office by a concurrent vote of both Houses of the General Assembly, …”

Tenn. Const., Art VI, § 7 states; “The judges of the Supreme or Inferior Courts, ... shall not … hold any other office of trust or profit under this state or the United States.”

The Tennessee Constitution is clear! 

One need not be a legal scholar to understand this plain language. No person(s) of one branch of government, shall exercise power belonging to another branch. No judge or attorney general shall have a seat in the General Assembly. No judge shall be allowed to hold any other office of trust or profit under this state.  Oversight of the judiciary, and the legislative power to impeach or remove judges is a legislative power.

The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct (BOJC) is an unconstitutional agency with judges holding prohibited second offices of trust, and exercising legislative power in violation of the separation of powers doctrine. 

The Tennessee Code Commission (TCC) is an unconstitutional agency with our Chief Justice holding a prohibited second office of trust, and with the Chief Justice and Attorney General holding defacto prohibited seats in the General Assembly.

What is an office of trust?

Office: A position of duty, trust, or authority, esp. one conferred by a governmental authority for a public purpose. Blacks Law Dictionary, Tenth Edition

“The Incompatibility Clause (prohibited offices of trust) seeks to prevent corruption by ensuring that “the mere acceptance of an office, as a bribe, effectually destroys the end for which it was offered” Elliot’s Debates at 475-76 James Wilson, Penn. Ratifying Convention Dec. 4, 1787

“The Incompatibility Clause was motivated by worries about British-style corruption. The Framers did not perceive it as having much to do with the separation of powers ...” Steven G. Calabresi & Joan L. Larsen, One Person, One Office: Separation of Powers or Personnel?, 79 Cornell L. Rev. 1045, 1077 (1994) 

Office of Trust: An office whose duties and functions require the exercise of discretion, judgment, experience and skill is an office of trust, and it is not necessary that the officer should have the handling of public money or property, or the care and oversight of some pecuniary interest of the government. A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF PUBLIC OFFICES AND OFFICERS § 16 (1890).

Clearly the TBJC and Tenn. Code Comm. are offices of trust and our constitution prohibits judges from holding these second offices.

Why are these prohibited offices of trust a problem?

Since its unconstitutional creation in 1971, the TBJC has never once recommended removal or impeachment of any judge. During one of my senate testimonies, it was admitted by Senator Roberts, that we have a problem with corrupt judges. I stated plainly during testimony, the members of the TBJC are “criminals protecting criminals”. Not only is the TBJC an unconstitutional agency, they have been grossly negligent in performance of duty.

The Tenn. Code Comm. includes the Chief Justice and Attorney General as members (TCA §1-1-101).  The Tenn. Code Comm is authorized to compile, edit, and annotate Tenn. Code – our statutes and laws (TCA §1-1-105(a)). 

The Tenn. Code Comm.; “may prepare and submit … its recommendations for the revision in substance and form or the repeal or amendment of certain statutes or any portion thereof, and submit bills for the accomplishment of such proposed revision, repeal or amendment.” (TCA §1-1-114)

Wait a minute! What?

 The Code Comm. may submit recommendations for revision in substance and form or repeal or amendment of statutes and submit bills for that purpose? Really?

Can you imagine the outrage if Chief Justice Roberts of the Supreme Court of the United States submitted recommendation to the U.S. Congress to revise the substance and form of federal statutes in a bill? 

Our Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, and our Attorney General have no business whatsoever having that kind of authority. The Code Comm. are de facto legislative seats prohibited to them. That authority is in clear violation of the separation of powers doctrine as well as a prohibited second office of trust. If nothing else, this agency is against the intent of what the framers of our constitution wrote into our state constitution.

Here is a little more common sense for you. 

Annotating the code, is adding court opinion to what the law means, in the eyes of the court. If the Tenn. Chief Justice and Attorney General are compiling, editing, annotating, and perhaps proposing change to substance and form of our statutes and laws, how possibly can they render objective opinion on the constitutionality of statutes and laws? They cannot. As members of the Tenn. Code Commission, the Chief Justice and Attorney General have rendered themselves incapable of performing a basic function of their office and they are no longer fit to serve.

I stated all of this in my Petition of Remonstrance, filed in, and entered into the journals of both houses. Director of Legislation, Holt Whitt, confided with me that members of the House also do not approve of Tenn. Code Commission – but not for reasons I stated.

The Tennessee Code Commission and Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct are unconstitutional agencies.  They must be abolished, and a proper form of government reinstated. 

As state Senator, when elected, I will endeavor with all of my being to restore the protections and provisions provided for in our state constitution. I ask you to stand with me in this most worthy of causes.