NASHVILLE (AP) — Eight lawyers have applied to fill an open seat on the Court of Criminal Appeals in the western portion of the state.

Officials with the Administrative Office of the Courts said the applicants include: J. Robert Carter Jr., Memphis; Vance Walker Dennis, Savannah; J. Ross Dyer, Memphis; Bobby Gene Gray Jr., Adamsville; Bruce Irwin Griffey, Paris; David M. Livingston, Brownsville; Joseph C. Murphy Jr., Memphis; and Chadwick R. Wood, Lexington.

A public hearing on the applicants will be held at 9 a.m. March 8 at the Supreme Court building in Jackson. The Governor's Council for Judicial Appointments will also be interviewing the applicants that day. The council will then forward names to Gov. Bill Haslam for his consideration.