On Tuesday, a Tennessee House panel rejected a push regarding the removal of a judge for expanding absentee voting in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, siding with prominent attorneys who warned the ouster would be an unprecedented breach of judicial independence.
The House Civil Justice Subcommittee crushed the effort by voting down a resolution to initiate removal hearings against Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle.
Point to be noted that 65 of 73 Republicans had signed on in support of the proposal in the House, which called for creating a House-Senate panel to make a recommendation on the removal of Judge.A two-thirds vote in each chamber will be needed to remove Lyle if the panel voted in favor.
The prospects looked less favorable in the Senate, where a version of the resolution had not drawn any co-sponsors.
But, the state changed course to promise only after allowing people at higher risk of COVID-19 complications and their caretakers to vote by mail.
The Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Attorney General Herbert Slatery criticized Lyle’s rulings.Tennessee legislators have used their constitutional authority to terminate judges only twice in the past 50 years.