The application period for Tennessee’s next attorney general opened Friday.
In a unique process, unlike in any other state, the position of attorney general is not an elected office in Tennessee. Rather, the person who holds the position is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
With that, The Tennessee Star is doing a deep dive into the justices who will be selecting a replacement for Attorney General Herbert Slatery III, whose eight-year term expires on September 1.
The Star profiled Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins last week.
Justice Sarah Campbell is the newest Supreme Court justice in the state, and was confirmed on February 10.
Previously, Campbell served as the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office as associate solicitor general and special assistant to the attorney general.
She has also worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C.
Williams & Connolly describes itself as “one of the world’s premier litigation firms.”
“Our lawyers successfully handle significant civil and criminal matters in courts across the country and forums around the world,” according to the law firm’s website.
Before her work in the private sector, Campbell clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, and Judge William Pryor on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The latter court covers appeals from federal district courts in Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
Campbell graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee in 2004, and received a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University in the same year. While at the University of Tennessee, she was the student body president and received the Torchbearer Award, which is the school’s highest student honor.
She later attended Duke Law School, from which she graduated in 2009. She was the managing editor of the Duke Law Journal.
“Justice Campbell is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Federalist Society and an elected member of the American Law Institute,” according to her biography on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s website. “She was a member of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court from 2017 to 2021 and participated in the Tennessee Bar Association’s Leadership Law program in 2020. She also served as a member of the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments from 2017 to 2020.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sarah Campbell” by Tennessee State Courts.
Vote against “retention” for them all. Force a change in the ridiculous retention mess.