Another applies for Tenn. job

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Legal Newsline) - A Chattanooga attorney has submitted an application to become the next Tennessee Supreme Court Justice.

John McClarty will try to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Justice William Barker, who will step down Sept. 1.

McClarty, 60, received his law degree from Southern University School of Law in Baton Rouge, La., and spent nine months in 1990 as a Hamilton County judge in the juvenile court system, a report in the Chattanooga Times Free Press said.

The deadline for applications is Friday. So far, only McClarty and Court of Appeals Judge Sharon Lee have applied.

The state's Judicial Selection Committee will select a panel of three candidates from which Gov. Phil Bredesen will choose.

The last time Bredesen had to do that, William Koch was eventually named after months of controversy.

Included in the conflict were allegations that Bredesen violated the state's Human Rights Act by demanding a minority be one of the three applicants approved by the state's Judicial Selection Commission.

From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien via e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.