NASHVILLE - Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper on Monday went before five state Supreme Court justices, who are deciding whether to reappoint him, and defended his decision not to join other states that filed suit against the federal health law.
The 57-year-old Democrat and Chattanooga native is competing with seven other lawyers for the eight-year appointment.
Tennessee's attorney general selection process is unique among states. The state's top lawyer is named by the Supreme Court.
Over the course of a five-hour public meeting, the five justices - three Democrats and two Republicans - heard presentations and asked questions of all eight applicants.
Among the applicants are Herbert Slatery, legal counsel for Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.
The new appointment comes just over a month after Tennessee voters decided by a strong majority to retain the three Democrat justices. That was despite a heavily funded effort led by Republican Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey and national conservative groups to defeat them.
The two Republican justices - Jeff Bivens and Holly Kirby - were only recently appointed by Haslam and were not up on retention votes as Supreme Court justices.
Cooper's refusal to participate in the suit against the Affordable Care Act was used to attack the justices.
Cooper told the justices he was getting "pushed" by both sides to join their position in that suit. Doing so "would have had no impact on the litigation," he said. "Its only purpose would have been to make a partisan political statement on a divisive national issue.
"And," the Chattanooga native added, "that would have weakened, not strengthened, this office. And the citizens of this state agreed. By their overwhelming vote in August, they clearly said that they want independence, not partisanship, in the judicial branch, including the Office of the State Attorney General."
Other candidates, most of whom are Republicans, said that while they respect aspects of Cooper's work as attorney general, they think they can equal him or do better.
"I do believe I have the background and professional expertise ... to make me successful," said Bill Young, a Republican who worked as Cooper's solicitor general before stepping down last year when Supreme Court justices made him the head of the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Chief Justice Sharon Lee, a Democrat, questioned Slatery about his close ties to Haslam and asked whether he could impartially make decisions in which different branches of government disagree.
"I think the governor, frankly, would expect me to do what is right," Slatery said.
Read more in Tuesday's Times Free Press.
Young is a former general counsel for Chattanooga-based BlueCross BlueShield.
Because the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is still conducting background investigations on the applicants, a decision won't be made for at least a week. At this point it's unclear whether the justices will debate and vote on their choice publicly.
The two other Democratic justices are Gary Wade and Connie Clark.
Other attorney general candidates include:
• Mark Fulks - A Johnson City-based attorney with Baker Donelson who specializes in business law.
• Will Helou - A trial attorney with WSM Legal, a self-described Republican and former lawyer under Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers
• Doug Overbey - Republican state senator from Maryville and practicing attorney
• Andrew Tillman - A former Chancery Court judge in the 8th Judicial District. He was appointed by Haslam but defeated in the August primary.