Dwight Tarwater
Dwight Tarwater is a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section. He assumed office on September 1, 2023. His current term ends on September 1, 2030.
Tarwater ran for re-election for judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section. He won in the retention election on August 1, 2024.
Tarwater was nominated for the Tennessee Supreme Court on February 2, 2023, by Gov. Bill Lee (R). On March 9, 2023, Tarwater was confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly to replace Sharon Lee, who retired on August 31, 2023. Tarwater took office on September 1, 2023. [1] To learn more about this appointment, click here.
Biography
Tarwater received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee in 1977 and a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1980. He founded the law firm Paine, Tarwater, Bickers, LLP in 1987. From 2014 to 2019, Tarwater served as General Counsel for Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam (R).[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2024
Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section
Dwight Tarwater was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section on August 1, 2024 with 72.9% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
72.9
|
390,549 | ||
No |
27.1
|
145,508 | |||
Total Votes |
536,057 | ||||
|
|
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Tarwater in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dwight Tarwater did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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Appointments
2023
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) nominated attorney Dwight Tarwater to the Tennessee Supreme Court on February 2, 2023. The Tennessee State Senate confirmed Tarwater on March 9, 2023. He assumed office on September 1, 2023.[3][4]
Tarwater replaced Justice Sharon Lee, who retired on August 31, 2023. Tarwater was Governor Lee's (R) second nominee to the five-member supreme court.[5][4]
At the time of the vacancy under Tennessee law, supreme court justices were selected through assisted appointment. The governor made the initial judicial appointments that were then confirmed by the Tennessee State Legislature. Justices would face retention elections at the end of their terms.
State supreme court judicial selection in Tennessee
- See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee
The five justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court 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. Justices face retention elections at the end of their terms.[6][7][4]
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 on this court, a judge must be:
- authorized to practice law in the state;
- a state resident for five years; and
- at least 35 years old.[7]
Chief justice
According to the Tennessee Constitution, the justices of the supreme court select the chief justice.[8] The chief justice serves a four-year term.
Vacancies
If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the governor appoints a replacement justice 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.[6][7] Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.[9]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Officeholder Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section |
Footnotes
- ↑ ‘’Tennessee State Courts‘', “Tarwater Confirmed As Tennessee Supreme Court Justice,” accessed September 1, 2023
- ↑ Paine, Tarwater, Bickers, LLP, "DWIGHT E. TARWATER," accessed March 14, 2023
- ↑ 10 News, "TN lawmakers confirm Dwight Tarwater as next Supreme Court justice," March 9, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Marion County News, "TN Governor sends judicial nominees for legislative approval," February 10, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "nom" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Tennessee State Courts, "Justice Lee Announces August 2023 Retirement," November 15, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Justia Law, "Tennessee Code Annotated § 17-4-101," accessed April 16, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "VacancyCode" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," archived September 11, 2014
- ↑ TNCourts.gov, "JUSTICE SHARON LEE ELECTED CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT," August 14, 2014
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," accessed August 5, 2016
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