Supreme Court of Tennessee
Administrative Office of the Courts
Internet: www.tncourts.gov
Elizabeth Sykes, Director
Tim Townsend, Deputy Director
For Information, contact Sue Allison, (615) 532-6047
(03/26/2008)
Binkley and Perkins to fill respective vacancies
on Davidson County Circuit and Chancery Courts
NASHVILLE - Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed Nashville attorney Joe P. Binkley Jr. to the Davidson County Circuit Court, Division V, and Russell Perkins of Whites Creek, Tenn., to a position on the Davidson County Chancery Court, Part IV.
Binkley will fill the vacancy created when Judge Walter C. Kurtz retired from the Circuit Court post in March to become a Senior Judge. Perkins’ appointment fills the vacancy created by the appointment of Richard H. Dinkins to the Tennessee Court of Appeals in January.
“I am confident that Joe Binkley and Russell Perkins will serve with distinction as they fill these two important posts,” said Bredesen. “I appreciate the experience and skill each brings to their respective appointments, and I am very pleased they have agreed to serve.”
Binkley, a Nashville native, has been a solo practitioner in private practice for 38 years. A graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, he is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. A member of the Nashville Bar Association since 1970, he has served as a board member and on the Association’s Domestic Relations and Fee Dispute committees.
“I am at a point in my career where I want to return something to the judicial system that has provided me with tremendous and rewarding challenges and purpose for my life,” said Binkley. “This is a great honor. I appreciate Governor Bredesen’s confidence in me and look forward to serving in this position.”
Perkins has been Deputy Attorney General of the Tobacco Enforcement Division since May 2006. Since joining the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office in 1994, he has served in a number of positions, including Deputy Attorney General in the Consumer Advocate and Protection Division and Deputy for Special Litigation in the Tobacco Unit. A graduate of the Ohio State University College of Law, he worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and was also an associate and partner in the Nashville law firm of Williams & Dinkins.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be appointed by Governor Bredesen to serve the state as a Chancellor of the Davidson County Chancery Court,” Perkins said. “I believe that I have something valuable and unique to contribute to the work of this Court, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve my community in this new capacity.”
Perkins received the William M. Leech, Jr., Distinguished Service Award from the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office in 2000.
(03/17/2008)
According to T.C.A. § 8-7-106, if the office of District Attorney General becomes vacant during the term, the Court is required to appoint a district attorney general pro tem until such time as the Governor makes an appointment. The Circuit Judges for the 21st Judicial District have appointed retired attorney and former assistant district attorney, Don Young, as district attorney general pro tem. Mr. Young has no interest in applying for the appointment, nor seeking the office in the next election. In making this appointment, the Judges of this District do not wish to interfere with the Governor’s appointment authority or to influence the upcoming election by appearing to endorse any potential candidate. The Judges have the utmost confidence in Mr. Young’s ability to provide the necessary stability and professionalism to run the office smoothly until the Governor makes his selection.
Ginger Wilson Buchanan Appointed To Fill Position In Tennessee*s 10th Judicial District
Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed Ginger Wilson Buchanan of Cleveland, Tenn. to fill the vacancy on the Tennessee Circuit Court, 10th Judicial District, Part II. The vacancy was created by the resignation of Judge John Hagler in December.
Ginger Wilson Buchanan has developed extensive legal experience in the private sector as a general practitioner and as an attorney for Bradley County government, and I am confident that she will serve the Tennessee Circuit Court with honor and distinction,* said Bredesen. *I am pleased to appoint Ginger to this seat, and I appreciate her willingness to serve her community in this capacity.*
Prior to her appointment, Buchanan has been a solo practitioner in private practice in Cleveland since 1996. After graduating from the University of Tennessee School of Law in 1995, she served as an associate at the law firm of Fillauer & Wilson. Buchanan also served as Bradley County Commissioner from 2003 to 2006, and as the attorney for Bradley County government in the areas of planning, engineering and building inspections.
*It is an honor and a privilege to be appointed by Governor Bredesen to serve the state as a member of the Tennessee Circuit Court,* Buchanan said. *My civic and community involvement is of the utmost importance to me, and I look forward to continuing my career in public service in this new role.*
Buchanan has participated in the Pro Bono program of Legal Aid of Tennessee since 1996, providing legal services at no cost to individuals in need, and she is currently an active member of the Rotary Club of Cleveland and the First United Methodist Church. Buchanan and her husband John reside in Cleveland with their two daughters.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the death sentence jurors imposed on Michael Dale Rimmer for the first degree murder and aggravated robbery of Ricci Ellsworth, a night worker at a Memphis hotel.
Rimmer pleaded guilty to raping Ellsworth in 1989 and, while serving a term in prison, made threats to kill her upon his release in October 1996. In the early morning of February 8, 1997, three months after completing his sentence, Rimmer robbed and murdered Ellsworth at the Memphis Inn. He also stole cash from the register. Although the police found blood at the crime scene, the body of the victim never was recovered.
A month after the murder, Rimmer was arrested in Indiana for driving a stolen car. Police found blood stains in the back seat of the car. DNA testing confirmed the blood matched the victim's and also the blood found at the hotel. Rimmer escaped from Indiana authorities as he was being returned to Tennessee, but was captured after a car chase.
A jury found Rimmer guilty of first degree murder and sentenced him to death. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction, but remanded for re-sentencing because of irregularities in the jury's verdict. At a second sentencing hearing, a different jury again returned a sentence of death, a judgment upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeals.
In an opinion authored by Justice Gary R. Wade, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected Rimmer's appeal for a third sentencing hearing and found the evidence sufficient to support the jury's verdict. The court ruled that the sentence was in proportion to previous cases where the death penalty has been imposed in Tennessee.
The court set Rimmer's execution date for April 7, 2009. He has state and federal appeals remaining.
Circuit Court Judge Walter Kurtz of Nashville will retire effective March 21 after more than 25 years to become the state’s fifth senior judge, he said in a letter to Gov. Phil Bredesen.
“I have applied for and the chief justice has offered me a position as a senior judge,” Kurtz wrote. “… I will miss my service as Fifth Circuit Court judge, but I am looking forward to serving a four year term as a senior judge.”
Chief Justice William M. Barker of Chattanooga said Kurtz will be missed as a trial court judge, but will continue to serve Tennesseans in his new position. Senior judges are former trial and appellate court judges who may be assigned on a temporary basis to any state court.
“He is as well-respected as any judge in the state, and for good reason,” Barker said. “My colleagues on the Supreme Court and I are pleased that he has agreed to become a senior judge.”
Kurtz, 64, has been a judge since 1982 and previously served one term as a public defender in Davidson County.
“I wish to express my appreciation to the people of Davidson County who have elected me four times as judge and one term prior to my judgeship as public defender,” Kurtz wrote to the governor. “I am thankful to them for the trust they have placed in me since 1978.”
Information on the process for filling the 20th Judicial District Circuit Court position, and a Chancery Court position left vacant by the appointment of former Chancellor Richard Dinkins to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, is available here on the AOC web site.
Richard H. Dinkins Appointed to Fill Position in Middle Tennessee
NASHVILLE - Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed Richard H. Dinkins of
Nashville to fill the vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Middle
Section. The vacancy was created by the death of Judge William Bryan
Cain in September.
“Richard Dinkins has developed extensive experience in his career with
the Davidson County Chancery Court and in the private sector, and I am
confident that he will serve the Tennessee Court of Appeals with honor
and integrity,” said Bredesen. “I am pleased to appoint Chancellor
Dinkins to this seat, and I appreciate his willingness to serve in this
position.”
Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Dinkins served as Chancellor of the Davidson County Chancery Court, Part IV, since 2003. After graduating from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1977, he served as an associate at the law firm of the Honorable Avon M. Williams Jr., with whom he joined in 1981 to form the firm of Williams and Dinkins. He later served as a member of Dodson, Parker, Dinkins and Behm, P.C. from 1999 to 2003. In his practice, Dinkins was counsel to the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency and Fisk University.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be appointed by Governor Bredesen to serve the state as a member of the Tennessee Court of Appeals,” Dinkins said. “I have devoted my career to securing equal justice under the law for all segments of society. It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of my predecessor, Judge Cain, and I look forward to continuing my career in public service in this new role.”
Dinkins received the Freedom Fighter Medal from the National
Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, and was also
awarded the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the Tennessee
Bar Association in 2004. He is currently serving on the Board of
Directors for the Nashville Bar Association, and is also on the Board of
Trustees at First Baptist Capitol Hill Church. Dinkins lives in
Nashville and has four children.