The Tennessee Supreme Court has released the complete list of individuals that applied to become Tennessee’s next Attorney General.
In total, six individuals applied to fill the vacancy. Several applicants already serve in state government in some capacity. Others include a law professor and a private attorney.
Applicants include:
- Donald Q. Cochran, Jr: Professor, Belmont University College of Law
- Jerome Cochran: Administrative Law Judge, Secretary of State’s Office
- David Michael Dunavant: Chief Investigative Counsel, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury
- R. Culver Schmid: Attorney, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
- Jonathan Thomas Skrmetti: General Counsel, Governor Bill Lee
- William Edwin “Bill” Young: Executive Director, Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance
The Tennessee Supreme Court, as outlined in the state constitution, will appoint the next Attorney General. The individual will serve an eight-year team, which begins September 1, 2022.
According to the Court, “interviews will be held on August 8 and 9 at the Nashville Supreme Court Building,” and will be live-streamed for anyone to view. Interested individuals can watch the process here.
“The Court will announce further details on the interview process early next week,” the group’s website explains.
In an additional transparent move, the Court has published the completed applications for each of the candidates. In the extensive questionnaire, applicants were asked to detail any prominent legal involvement during their career and describe any pro bono services completed.
According to the Supreme Court, the Attorney General “represents the State in criminal appeals and defends the State in civil actions in state and federal court” and will have “authority to investigate and prosecute civil actions for environmental enforcement, antitrust violations, Medicaid fraud, and consumer fraud.”
Tennessee Attorney General Herb Slatery announced he would not seek another term earlier this year. He is scheduled to leave office at the end of August.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Don Cochran” by Belmont University College of Law. Photo “Jerome Cochran” by Jerome Cochran. Photo “David Michael Dunavant” by David Michael Dunavant. Photo “R. Culver Schmid” by Baker Donelson. Photo “Bill Young” by Tennessee Bar Association. Photo “Jonathan Thomas Skrmetti” by Federalist Society. Background Photo “Tennessee Supreme Court” by Thomas R Machnitzki. CC BY 3.0.
