NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has asked the state's judicial nominating panel to send him three new attorneys' names for him to consider in filling a vacant Hamilton County Criminal Court judgeship.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports (http://bit.ly/1QGfzJT) Haslam chief legal counsel Dwight Tarwater sent a letter Thursday to Governor's Council for Judicial Appointments Chairwoman Cheryl G. Rice, requesting three additional nominees for the vacancy.

Tarwater did not say if the first group of nominees had been rejected in the search to replace former judge Rebecca Stern, who retired last month after 18 years on the bench.

Haslam spokesman David Smith says Haslam's request for the second panel is part of his thorough process to find the best fit for the position.