Click Here for Special Notice to 2010 Applicants

How to Apply

Download the application packet [ Click Here ]

The application packet includes:

• General information about the Supreme Court and the duties of justices
• A basic application form
• One essay question (also described below)
• Requirements for two letters of recommendation from faculty members (also described below)

Deadline: Thursday, April 1, 2010

Essay Question

In 2009, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law allowing handguns in restaurants that serve alcohol but not in bars. The law retained an existing ban on consuming alcohol while carrying a handgun, and restaurant owners could still opt to ban weapons from their establishments. Thirty-seven other states have similar laws. A state judge later struck down this law because the distinction between restaurants and bars was unconstitutionally vague.

Q: Does the state have the right, under the Tennessee Constitution, to regulate where a citizen may carry a handgun? (Suggested maximum length: 500 words)

Letters of Recommendation

Please submit letters of recommendation from at least two faculty members in a relevant discipline. Each faculty member should place his/her letter in an envelope, seal it and sign the flap. The professor should return the envelope to you to include with your application package.

Each letter should verify that the applicant’s GPA is 3.0 or greater.

Letters of recommendation should also include the faculty member’s opinion of the applicant’s academic ability, ability to work with others, communication skills and critical-thinking skills.

Where to Submit

Put your completed application form, your answers to the essay question and the sealed letters of recommendation in one large envelope and send to:

TISC Nominating Commission
Post Office Box 23213
Nashville 37202

Contacts

FAQs

Who can apply?

Any Tennessee college student with a 3.0 GPA or greater majoring in political science, government, pre-law, philosophy, history or a similar discipline. Students enrolled in law school are excluded.

What if my college didn't attend TISL last year.

That's OK, but we certainly hope your college will send a delegation to this year's General Assembly.

Is it OK for candidates to contact members of the Nominating Commission directly?

Yes. The Commission permits such contact.

Please be judicious, however, especially in regard to non-student members of the Commission who have full-time jobs that must be their higher priority.

What expenses will justices incur?

TISL will pay for each justice's lodging at the TISL General Assembly in November and for mileage to/from the General Assembly under TISL's regular reimbursement policy.

Members of the Court are exempt from TISL fees.

Justices will be responsible for their own meals, parking and incidental expenses, although TISL provides some meals to everyone at the General Assembly.

How will it affect my college's delegation if I'm a justice?

Your service as a justice doesn't affect your college's delegation to the TISL General Assembly.

Justices are members of the Tennessee Intercollegiate Supreme Court, not members of a particular college delegation.