As Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger A. Page plans to retire at the end of August in 2024, six judges from around the state are vying to replace him. The Tennessee Star plans to profile each of the applicants before they are interviewed for the position in January.
Judge Camille R. McMullen is the presiding judge of the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals, a position to which she was elected in June. She is perhaps the most high-profile candidate to fill the State Supreme Court role.
The members of the court elect the presiding judge of the criminal court of appeals and manage the court’s docket and case assignments. McMullen (pictured above) was elected as presiding judge unanimously.
“The role of this court in the criminal justice system is incredibly important. The Tennessee Supreme Court only accepts about 3 percent of cases that are appealed, therefore, as a practical matter, we are the court of last resort for 97 percent of criminal cases across the state. The issues we decide are serious and have a direct impact on so many lives,” she said upon her election. “As presiding Judge, I will continue to explore ways in which the court can be more efficient with its internal processes. We will continue to embrace technology and to improve the courts accessibility, not only to the bar, but to the entire Tennessee community.”
McMullen graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1996 and subsequently served as a clerk for Judge Joe G. Riley on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals from 1996 until 1997.
She was a prosecutor with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office from 1997 to 2001 when she became an assistant U.S. Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, where she remained until 2008 when she was appointed to the criminal court of appeals by then-Gov. Phil Bredesen (D).
Her biography on the state’s website says she was born at the “tail end” of the Civil Rights era.
“I received the benefit of the hardships of my parent’s generation,” McMullen said. “I am close to my parents and often talk with my mother, who attended segregated schools and became a teacher. For her, there were only two choices: Be a teacher or be a secretary. That was the choice for most women, not just Black women. I often wonder what she would have done if more opportunities were available to her. She looks in awe at me and my sister, who is a doctor, but we are truly in awe of her.”
She describes diversity as a “jewel” and says that “the more differing perspectives that we have, the better the result.”
Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s Council for Judicial Appointments will hold a public meeting on January 4 at the Belmont College of Law, Randall and Sadie Baskin Center to interview the six applicants for the position.
That council is chaired by Lang Wiseman, an attorney at the Nashville firm Baker Donelson and Lee’s chief counsel.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
Background Photo “Tennessee Supreme Court” by Antony-22. CC BY-SA 4.0.
The voters should be electing these justices.