Ahead of the retirement of Justice Holly Kirby on June 30, 2026, the Tennessee Supreme Court last month announced that it had narrowed its number of candidates for the seat to three legal professionals.
The candidates identified in a report by the Tennessee Bar Association on November 25 include judges from Knox and Shelby counties, as well as an attorney in Memphis who spent her career in private practice.
Shea Sisk Wellford has had the longest active law license of the three candidates, as her application to the Tennessee Supreme Court states that she was admitted in 1995 and shortly thereafter began working at the Memphis law firm Martin Tate, where she has worked for her entire career.
“When I started as an associate at Martin Tate, I walked into my office on the first day to find a three-foot stack of files on my desk,” Wellford (pictured above, center) wrote in her application. “As soon as I finished a General Sessions case, I was given another one to handle. It was a great experience as a young attorney to start immediately being responsible for clients’ matters and trying cases.”
Wellford rose through the ranks at Martin Tate, becoming a shareholder in 2001 and then president of the firm in 2022. She received her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and her law degree from the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
The second Memphis-area legal professional up for consideration to succeed Kirby is Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge J. Ross Dyer, who began practicing law in 1998.
Prior to becoming a judge in 2016, Dyer (pictured above, right) wrote in his application that he started work as the county attorney for Shelby County in 2014. Before working for the county, Dyer held various positions at the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, beginning after he started practicing law.
The judge revealed within his application that he is the latest in “three generations of lawyers and judges,” and chose to follow his family into the legal field.
He wrote, “I have crafted and my career to reach my current position always with an eye on taking the next step of serving on our State’s highest court.”
Dyer graduated from Samford University Cumberland School of Law in 1998 after receiving his undergraduate degree from Millsaps College.
The final candidate is Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Kyle Hixson, who lives in Knoxville and began practicing law in 2008.
“I am a seventh-generation Tennessean who has dedicated my entire career to public service in our state’s justice system. I love our state—its history, its culture, and its people,” wrote Hixson, after divulging earlier in the application that he worked in sports broadcasting and for his family’s local grocery stores before practicing law.
“I gained unique perspectives spending the first half of my life growing up in the rural Upper Cumberlands and spending the other half working in the urban areas of Knoxville and Nashville,” he wrote. “I would be honored to serve my fellow citizens as a justice on our Supreme Court. I believe my prior public service has prepared me well for this enormous responsibility.”
Hixson (pictured above, left) obtained his undergraduate degree in 2005 from the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, and his law degree from the UT College of Law in 2008.
Governor Bill Lee will now select his preferred candidate, who must be approved or rejected by the Tennessee General Assembly. If lawmakers do not vote on the appointment, the candidate will be automatically confirmed after 60 days.
Justice Mary Wagner became the newest member of Tennessee’s highest court in September 2024.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Shea Sisk Wellford” by Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston, P.C. Background Photo “Tennessee Supreme Court Building” by Antony-22. CC BY-SA 4.0.
