Court of Appeals judges are (seated from left), David R. Farmer, Patricia J. Cottrell, Herschel P. Franks,
Alan E. Highers, Charles D. Susano, Jr., (standing from left) Holly M. Kirby, Richard H. Dinkins,
Andy D. Bennett, John Westley McClarty, Frank G. Clement, D. Michael Swiney, and J. Steven Stafford.
Created by the General Assembly in 1925, the Court of Appeals hears appeals in civil—or non-criminal—cases from trial courts and certain state boards and commissions. The court has twelve members who sit in panels of three in Jackson, Knoxville and Nashville. All decisions made by the Court of Appeals may be appealed, by permission, to the Tennessee Supreme Court. As in all three appellate courts, Court of Appeals hearings do not include witnesses, juries or testimonies. Instead, attorneys present oral and written arguments.
As with judges on the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals, members of the Court of Appeals must, by state law, be evaluated every eight years. Results of the evaluations are published in newspapers across the state to help voters decide whether the judges should be retained.
Born Dec. 6, 1940, Springfield, MO. Married; two children; Methodist; B.B.A., University of Memphis, 1963; J.D., University of Memphis School of Law, 1966; admitted to Bar, 1966; Union Carbide Corp., 1966-68; private practice in Jackson, 1968-86; president, Jackson-Madison County Bar Association, 1980; member of Tennessee Bar Association, Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association, director, 1977-80, secretary treasurer 1983-84; vice president 1985; fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation; Leo Bearman Sr. American Inn of Court; member of United States Army Reserve, 1966-72; appointed to Court of Appeals March 1986; elected August 1986; reelected August 1990, 1998 and 2006.
Born July 5, 1937, Muskogee, OK. Married, two children, Church of Christ; A.A. and LL.D., Freed-Hardeman University; B.A., David Lipscomb University; J.D., University of Memphis School of Law; admitted to Bar, 1968; private practice, 1968-73; lecturer University of Memphis School of Law, 1972; recipient of Outstanding Alumnus of the Year award by Freed-Hardeman University, 1977; special judge and referee at Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, 1973-77; Circuit Court judge in Memphis, 1977-82; selected Judge of the Year by National Reciprocal and Family Support Enforcement Association (NRFSEA) in Washington, D.C., 1982; faculty, National College of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Reno, NV, 1980-85; Tennessee Judicial Conference, secretary 1978-79, vice president 1981-82, president 1984-85, member of Executive Committee for ten years; appointed to Court of Appeals, September 1982; elected August 1984; reelected August 1990, 1998 and 2006.
Born July 9, 1957, Memphis, TN. Married, two children; Presbyterian; graduate of Columbia Central High School, Columbia, TN, 1975; B.S. in Engineering, University of Memphis, 1979 (magna cum laude, Herff and Honors Alumni Scholarships); J.D., University of Memphis School of Law, 1982 (Herff Scholarship; Law Review, Notes Editor); admitted to Bar in 1982; law clerk to Honorable Harry W. Wellford, Sixth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, 1982-83; practiced law in Memphis, 1983-1995 (first female partner in law firm Burch, Porter & Johnson); Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission, 1989-94, chairperson, 1994; Leo Bearman Sr. American Inn of Court, 1995-98; University of Memphis Award for Outstanding Young Alumna, 1996; appointed to Court of Appeals in 1995 by Governor Don Sundquist (first woman to serve on Court of Appeals); elected 1996; reelected to 8-year terms in 1998 and 2006.
Judge Stafford was appointed to the Court of Appeals in June of 2008. From 1993 until his appointment he served as the Chancellor for the 29th Judicial District, which consists of Dyer and Lake Counties. Prior to serving as Chancellor he was Dyersburg City Judge for five years and was a partner in the law firm of Wilkerson & Stafford. He received his undergraduate degree from The University of Tennessee at Martin and his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He is a fellow and the current chairman of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. He is a Past-President of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and has chaired and served on numerous committees in the conference. He was a member of the Leadership Team for Tennessee’s Committee on Building Public Trust and Confidence in the Judicial System. He has been a member of the Court of the Judiciary since1999 and served as the Presiding Judge from 2004 to 2007. He also serves as the Dean of the Tennessee Judicial Academy. He is married to Tempe Stafford and has two children, Lynlee, 27 and Sydnee, 16. He is a frequent seminar speaker for judges and lawyers on various topics, especially in the field of ethics.
Born July 12, 1957, Charlotte, TN; married with one child; Methodist; graduate of Dickson County Senior High School, Dickson, TN 1975, valedictorian; Vanderbilt University, B.A. cum laude 1979; Vanderbilt University School of Law; J.D. 1982 and awarded the Weldon White Prize for the best paper on a Tennessee subject; Assistant Attorney General 1982-86; Deputy Attorney General 1986-93; Associate Chief Deputy Attorney General 1993-97; Chief Deputy Attorney General 1997-2007; Tennessee Bicentennial Foundation Board of Directors 1993-97; Tennessee Supreme Court Commission on Dispute Resolution 1992-94; President of the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society 2005-07; author of several legal and historical articles; William M. Leech, Jr. Award for outstanding service to the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office 1998; Marvin Award from the National Association of Attorneys General for “outstanding leadership, expertise and achievement in advancing the goals of the National Association of Attorneys General” 2004; Tennessee Bar Foundation Fellow 2001; appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals September 2007
Born 1949, Nashville, TN. One child, Jennifer; West End United Methodist Church; B.S.E., University of Memphis, 1972; president, Student Government Association, 1972; Governor Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, 1972; J.D., Nashville School of Law, 1979; admitted to Bar, 1979; 164th Military Airlift Group, Tennessee Air National Guard, 1968-74; president, Nashville Kiwanis Club, 1987-88; chair, Nashville Area Chapter and Tennessee Valley Blood Region, American Red Cross, 1989-91; private practice of law, 1979-95; Board of Directors, Nashville Bar Association, 1991-95; president, Nashville Bar Association, 1995; Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, 1990-01; Leadership Nashville, 1995; fellow, Tennessee and Nashville Bar Foundations; member, Tennessee and Nashville Bar Associations; treasurer and executive committee member, Tennessee Trial Judges Association, 1997-02; Tennessee Judicial Conference Convention chair, 1998; appointed 1995 judge of the Circuit and Probate Court, 20th judicial district, elected 1996 judge of Division VII of the Circuit Probate Court, 20th judicial district, re-elected 1998; appointed to the Court of Appeals of Tennessee by Governor Phil Bredesen, September 2003; elected August 2004; re-elected August 2006; member, Board of Trustees, Nashville School of Law, 2006 to present.
Born January 15, 1947, in Memphis, TN; graduate of East High School, Memphis, 1965, National Merit Scholar; B.S. with honors, University of Tennessee, 1969; J.D., University of Tennessee College of Law, 1976; Tennessee Law Review; assistant attorney general, 1976-78 and 1982-84; director, Public Law Institute, University of Tennessee College of Law, 1978-79; assistant director, Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, 1979-81; deputy attorney general, 1984-1991; Director of Law, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, 1991-93; chief deputy attorney general, 1993-97; private practice of law in Nashville, 1997-98; Judicial Conference; Nashville Bar Association; Nashville Bar Foundation; Tennessee Bar Foundation; American Inns of Court; Supreme Court Historical Society; founding member, Lawyers Association for Women; Leadership Nashville, 1993-94; Charter Revision Commission of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, 1994-98; adjunct faculty, Vanderbilt School of Law, 1999; appointed to Court of Appeals November 1998; elected in 2000; reelected to an 8-year-term 2006.
Supreme Court Building, 401 Seventh Avenue, North, Nashville, TN 37219-1417
Born August 30, 1952, Nashville, TN. Baptist; B.A., Denison University, Granville, Ohio, 1974; J.D., Vanderbilt University School of Law, Nashville, TN, 1977; associate, Law Firm of the Honorable Avon N. Williams, Jr., 1977 - 80; partner, Williams and Dinkins, 1981 - 99; member, Dodson, Parker, Dinkins & Behm, P.C., 1999 - 03; member, American, National, and Nashville Bar Associations; member, Napier-Looby Bar Association, Board of Directors 1981 - 83, Vice President 1984, President 1985; former cooperating attorney, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; former cooperating attorney, Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Educational Fund; former member, Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Governors; member, Board of Directors, Nashville Bar Association 1988 - 1991; former member, Commercial Law Section, National Bar Association; Barrister, Harry Phillips Inn of Court 1990-02, Master 2005 - present; member, Board of Directors, Nashville Bar Association 2006 - 08; Fellow, Tennessee Bar Association Foundation. Appointed Chancellor, Davidson County Chancery Court – Part IV, September 26, 2003; elected May, 2004; reelected August, 2006; appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, January 14, 2008; elected August, 2008.
Born May 28, 1930, Savannah, TN. Married; one child; United Church of Christ; attended University of Tennessee-Martin, University of Maryland; LL.B., University of Tennessee; graduate of National Judicial College; past president of Chattanooga Bar Association; member of American Bar Association, Chattanooga Bar Foundation and Tennessee Bar Foundation; U.S. Air Force, 1950-54; recipient of 1971 Optimist Community Service Award, 1986 Foundation of Freedom Award by Chattanooga Bar Association; listed in Who's who in American Law, Who's Who in America; chancellor of third chancery division, 1970-78; appointed to Court of Appeals May 1978; elected August 1978; reelected August 1982, 1990, 1998 and 2006.
Born March 24, 1936, Knoxville, TN. Married; three children; Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church; Ph.B. (Accounting), University of Notre Dame, 1958; U.S. Army, 1958-60; J.D., University of Tennessee, 1963; member, Order of the Coif; Tennessee Law Review; admitted to Bar, 1964; law clerk to Supreme Court, 1963-64; assistant district attorney general, Knox County, 1967-68; chairman, Knox County Democratic Party, 1972-74; member, state Democratic Executive Committee, 1974-82; former member, Advisory Commission to Supreme Court on Civil Rules; practiced law in Knoxville, 1964-94; appointed to Court of Appeals March 1994; elected August 1994; reelected to eight-year terms August 1998 and August 2006; fellow, American Bar Foundation and Tennessee Bar Foundation; member, Advisory Board, Shepherd Center, Atlanta.
Born May 25, 1949, Sarasota, FL; married; two children, Gabe and Eli; Church Street United Methodist Church; B.S., University of Tennessee, 1971; M.S., 1974, and J.D., 1978; member, Order of the Coif; admitted to Bar, 1979; practiced law in Knoxville, 1979-99; adjunct professor, University of Tennessee College of Law, 1997-2006; Hamilton Burnett Chapter, American Inns of Court, 1991-present; Tennessee Court of the Judiciary 2003-present; appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals July 1999; elected 2000; reelected 2006.