NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Supreme Court on Monday named Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s top legal adviser, Herbert Slatery, as Tennessee’s next attorney general.The announcement came in the aftermath of a failed campaign led by Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey to oust three Democratic jus-tices who make up a majority on the five-member court. That effort focused heavily on incumbent Attorney General Bob Cooper’s refusal to take part in a multistate lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama’s health care law.The justices did not take questions from reporters about why they decided against appointing Cooper, who had previously served as legal counsel for Haslam’s Democratic pre-decessor, Phil Bredesen.Chief Justice Sharon Lee cited what she called Slatery’s “proven leader-ship ability and sound judgment” in their unani-mous selection.“He has played an important role in drafting major legislation during the current term and has worked closely with all branches of government,” she said.Lee had touted what she called a “commitment of a transparent process” for application process for the next eight-year term as attorney general, though only the initial interviews were conducted in public.Slatery declined to say whether he would have joined the health care lawsuit.“You need to look at cost, you need to look at the issue, you need to commu-nicate well with the leaders of the state to see what their posi-tions are,” Slater said.