News
September 16, 2020
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a Chancellor in the Sixth Judicial District, which covers Knox County. This vacancy was created by the retirement of the Honorable Michael W. Moyers, effective January 23, 2021.Qualified applicants must be licensed attorneys who are…
September 11, 2020
Retired 16th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge and military veteran Royce Taylor was the keynote speaker Friday at a ceremony in Rutherford County in remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.Judge Taylor served the State of Tennessee as a judge from 1998 to 2020. During the Vietnam…
September 9, 2020
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a Circuit Court Judge in the Sixth Judicial District, which covers Knox County. This vacancy was created by the appointment of the Honorable Kristi Davis to the Court of Appeals, Eastern Section.Qualified applicants must be licensed…
August 7, 2020
On August 6 state/federal primary and state/county general elections were held in Tennessee. The state and county general elections included a number of judicial races. These judicial races were generally to fill the remaining terms of judges who left office early due to retirement or other causes…
July 20, 2020
Tennessee’s many recovery courts play a critical role in reducing recidivism and improving the lives of those with substance use disorders in the state. These intensive court programs give repeat offenders a chance to break the cycle of their addiction and become productive members of society…
June 23, 2020
Approaching three decades on the bench this September, 26th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr., the incoming president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference, has just about seen it all. With both civil and criminal jurisdiction in his West Tennessee district, Judge Morgan has…
June 18, 2020
Outgoing Tennessee Judicial Conference President Judge Don Elledge has announced the results of the conference’s election of new officers, who will take their positions on June 19.Twenty-Sixth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr., will succeed Judge Elledge as president of the…
June 11, 2020
Over the past few weeks, courts across the state of Tennessee have been expanding in-person proceedings pursuant to a Supreme Court Order issued April 24. That Order asked for each of the state’s 31 judicial districts to submit a plan to the Supreme Court detailing the safeguards and procedures…
May 26, 2020
Today, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced the appointment of Bonita Jo Atwood to the 16th Judicial District Circuit Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Royce Taylor. “Bonita Jo Atwood is an experienced litigator with the right temperament to serve on the…
April 23, 2020
Pressed to keep courts open and functioning while under a state of emergency, judges in Tennessee have embraced new technologies to continue to hear emergency cases and keep dockets moving forward. Traditionally, court proceedings in Tennessee are held in person with judges, attorneys, defendants,…
April 9, 2020
The latest edition of the Tennessee Court Talk podcast features an inside look at the state’s chancery courts. There are chancery courts in every judicial district, and Tennessee is only one of five states to have these special equity courts. The podcast features: Chancellor JB Cox, serving the…
April 1, 2020
The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury issued the FY 2018-19 Tennessee Judicial Weighted Caseload Study in March 2020. The state has estimated a net deficit of 8.53 full-time equivalent judges. In the previous year, there was a deficit of 6.51 judges and, in 2017, there was a deficit of 6.51…
March 10, 2020
Twelfth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Justin Angel was recently featured on one of the nation’s most popular podcasts to talk about his involvement in the case of Adam Braseel, a Grundy County man released from prison in 2019 after serving 12 years for a murder he swears he did not commit…
March 4, 2020
The primary elections held on March 3 included a number of judicial races. In many instances these races involve judges who had been appointed to the bench following a judge’s retirement, illness, or death.The winners of these primaries will go on to appear on their respective county general…
February 13, 2020
A sense of hard-earned joy coursed through a Rutherford County courtroom earlier this month at the scene of a unique adoption hearing.Friends and family who a dozen years before had been united in grief following the senseless murder of Melissa Atkin, were united once more, but this time in…
February 4, 2020
The White House recently rolled out a new tool to help local leaders in rural areas respond effectively to the opioid epidemic. The State of Tennessee has been at the forefront of the rural opioid crisis and both Fourth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Duane Slone and Administrative Office of…
January 29, 2020
Harold Wimberly Jr., who served as a General Sessions Judge in Knoxville from 1974-1987 and a Circuit Court Judge in the 6th Judicial District from 1987 to 2014, passed away on January 24.Judge Wimberly was a double alumni of the University of Tennessee and was admitted to the bar in 1966. In…
January 29, 2020
Recovery courts, one of the judiciary’s most powerful tools to combat substance abuse, reduce costs, and put lives back on track, have seen a remarkable growth in Tennessee in recent years. Since 2013, there has been a 67 percent increase in the number of recovery courts in the state — starting at…
January 23, 2020
Longtime Nashville Judge Seth Norman, whose visionary ideas on the criminal justice system’s treatment of drug offenders challenged conventional wisdom and saved countless lives, was honored recently with a portrait unveiling ceremony in his former courtroom.The Honorable Seth Walker Norman’s…
January 9, 2020
Livestreaming of the investiture of new Sixth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Kyle A. Hixson will be available at the link below at 3 p.m. EST/ 2 p.m. CST on January 9, 2020. The link will go live 15 minutes before the start of the event. The Sixth Judicial District covers Knox County.…