Tennessee Court of Appeals

The Tennessee Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court in Tennessee. It hears appeals of civil cases; the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals hears appeals of criminal cases.

Created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1925, the Tennessee Court of Appeals hears appeals in civil—or non-criminal—cases from trial courts and certain state boards and commissions. The court has 12 members who sit in panels of three in Jackson, Knoxville, and Nashville. All decisions made by the Tennessee 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.

• Published opinions of the Tennessee Court of Appeals can be found here.

 

Tennessee Court of Appeals
Court information
Judges:	12
Founded:	1925
Salary:	Associates: $220,548
Judicial selection
Method:	Assisted appointment
Term:	8 years

Judges

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
John McClarty	January 14, 2009 - Present	Phil Bredesen
Thomas R. Frierson	February 14, 2013 - Present	Bill Haslam
Kristi Davis	August 3, 2020 - Present	Bill Lee
D. Michael Swiney	1999 - Present	Gov. Don Sundquist (R)
J. Steven Stafford	June 9, 2008 - Present	Phil Bredesen
Carma Dennis McGee	2019 - Present	Bill Lee
Kenny Armstrong	September 1, 2014 - Present	Bill Haslam
Jeffrey Usman	September 1, 2022 - Present	Bill Lee
W. Neal McBrayer	May 29, 2014 - Present	Bill Haslam
Frank Clement	2003 - Present	Phil Bredesen
Andy Bennett	September 18, 2007 - Present	Phil Bredesen

Former judges

• Patricia Cottrell
• William Frank Crawford
• Richard Dinkins
• David Farmer
• Herschel Franks
• Alan Highers
• Holly Kirby
• Charles Susano
• Arnold B. Goldin

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee

The twelve judges on the Tennessee Court of Appeals are selected through assisted appointment. The governor selects a nominee from a list of recommended candidates from a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly. Judges face retention elections at the end of their terms.

The appointment system was adjusted in 2014 with the passage of a state ballot measure titled Tennessee Judicial Selection, Amendment 2. The measure added the required confirmation by the Tennessee legislature. While Tennessee state law changed in 2014 to eliminate the judicial nominating commission and require legislative approval of the governor’s appointee, Gov. Bill Haslam’s Executive Order No. 54 and Gov. Bill Lee’s subsequent Executive Order No. 87 re-established the judicial nominating commission for appointments. Accordingly, Tennessee’s process is effectively assisted appointment with legislative confirmation.

Qualifications

To serve this court, a judge must be:

• authorized to practice law in the state;
• a district resident;
• a state resident for five years; and
• at least 30 years old.

Vacancies

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the governor appoints a replacement judge from a list from a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by both chambers of the state legislature. If filling an interim vacancy, the appointee stands for retention in the next general election at least 30 days after the vacancy occurred. The retained judge serves out the remainder of the unexpired term before again running for retention to serve a full eight-year term. Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.

Elections

2022

See also: Tennessee intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

Candidates and results

Court of Appeals

Tennessee Court of Appeals 2022 Retention election
Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office	Candidates
Eastern Section	D. Michael Swiney (i)
Eastern Section	John McClarty (i)
Eastern Section	Kristi Davis (i)
Eastern Section	Thomas R. Frierson (i)
Middle Section	Andy Bennett (i)
Middle Section	Frank Clement (i)
Middle Section	W. Neal McBrayer (i)
Western Section	Arnold B. Goldin (i)
Western Section	Carma Dennis McGee (i)
Western Section	J. Steven Stafford (i)
Western Section	Kenny Armstrong (i)

Judges not on the ballot

• Richard Dinkins

2020

See also: Tennessee intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

Candidates and results

McGee's seat

Tennessee Court of Appeals Western Section

Carma Dennis McGee was retained to the Tennessee Court of Appeals Western Section on August 6, 2020 with 72.7% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	72.7	601,986
			No	27.3	226,360
			Total Votes		828,346

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It has been certified. Source

2016

Judges who faced retention

■ Kenny Armstrong (Western Section) (Retained)
■ Brandon O. Gibson (Western Section) (Retained)
■ Arnold B. Goldin (Western Section) (Retained)

Election results

Tennessee Court of Appeals Retention, Kenny Armstrong, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Kenny Armstrong	71.64%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

Tennessee Court of Appeals Retention, Brandon O. Gibson, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Brandon O. Gibson	71.44%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

Tennessee Court of Appeals Retention, Arnold B. Goldin, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Arnold B. Goldin	70.62%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

2014

An effort to unseat the three Tennessee Supreme Court justices facing retention in 2014 highlighted the issue of retention elections across the state. Click here for more information.

Retention

Judge	Election Vote
KirbyHolly Kirby	64.9%   A
McClartyJohn McClarty	64.0%   A
StaffordJ. Steven Stafford	64.8%   A
ClementFrank Clement	65.2%   A
BennettAndy Bennett	64.6%   A
DinkinsRichard Dinkins	63.3%   A
FriersonThomas R. Frierson	63.8%   A
SusanoCharles Susano	62.5%   A
McBrayerW. Neal McBrayer	64.0%   A
SwineyD. Michael Swiney	63.7%   A

See also: Tennessee judicial elections, 2014

Ethics

The Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Tennessee. It is composed of four canons:

• Canon 1: "A Judge Shall Uphold and Promote the Independence, Integrity, and Impartiality of the Judiciary, and Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety."
• Canon 2: "A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially, Competently, and Diligently."
• Canon 3: "A Judge Shall Conduct the Judge's Personal and Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict with the Obligations of Judicial Office."
• Canon 4: "A Judge or Candidate for Judicial Office Shall Not Engage in Political or Campaign Activity that Is Inconsistent with the Independence, Integrity, or Impartiality of the Judiciary."

The full text of the Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Tennessee may be removed in one of two ways:

• Removal by a two-thirds vote of each house of the General Assembly, after recommendation from the court of the judiciary
• Conviction by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, following impeachment by a two-thirds vote of the house of representatives

State profile

Demographic data for Tennessee
	Tennessee	U.S.
Total population:	6,595,056	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	41,235	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	77.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	16.8%	12.6%
Asian:	1.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	4.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	85.5%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	24.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$45,219	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	21.4%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Tennessee. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Tennessee

Tennessee voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Tennessee, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Tennessee had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Tennessee coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Tennessee
• United States congressional delegations from Tennessee
• Public policy in Tennessee
• Endorsers in Tennessee
• Tennessee fact checks
• More...

See also

Tennessee	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Tennessee Tennessee Court of Appeals Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Tennessee Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Tennessee	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Tennessee State Courts, "Tennessee Court of Appeals"

Footnotes

Tennessee courts

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Federal courts:

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee

State courts:

Tennessee Supreme Court • Tennessee Court of Appeals • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals • Tennessee Circuit Court • Tennessee Chancery Courts • Tennessee Criminal Court • Tennessee Probate Court • Tennessee General Sessions Court • Tennessee Juvenile Court • Tennessee Municipal Court

State resources:

Courts in Tennessee • Tennessee judicial elections • Judicial selection in Tennessee