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Mary L. Wagner (Tennessee)
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2024 - Present
2026
1
Mary L. Wagner is a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section. She assumed office on September 1, 2024. Her current term ends on September 1, 2026.
Wagner ran for re-election for the Division VII judge of the Thirtieth Circuit Court in Tennessee. She won in the general election on August 4, 2022.
Wagner first became a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court through an appointment. Gov. Bill Lee (R) first appointed her to the court in 2024 to the seat vacated by Roger A. Page. To learn more about this appointment, click here.[1]
Biography
From 2011 until her judicial appointment in the Thirtieth Circuit Court Tennessee, Wagner worked at the firm of Rice, Amundsen & Caperton. She had previously worked at as a teacher at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis (2012–2014); as a lawyer at the firm of Leitner, Williams, Dooley and Napolitan (2010–2011); as a law clerk for Judge J. Steven Stafford (2009–2010); and as an extern at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee.[2]
Elections
2022
See also: Municipal elections in Shelby County, Tennessee (2022)
General election
General election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII
Incumbent Mary L. Wagner defeated Paul Robinson Jr. in the general election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII on August 4, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mary L. Wagner (Nonpartisan) | 63.5 | 74,298 | |
| Paul Robinson Jr. (Nonpartisan) | 36.5 | 42,661 | ||
| Total votes: 116,959 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
Incumbent Mary L. Wagner defeated Michael G. Floyd in the general election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII on August 2, 2018.
General election
General election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mary L. Wagner (Nonpartisan) | 55.9 | 74,829 | |
| Michael G. Floyd (Nonpartisan) | 43.9 | 58,773 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 217 | ||
| Total votes: 133,819 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Selection method
For more information about judicial selection processes in each state, click here.
2016
Wagner was one of three candidates submitted by the Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission to Gov. Haslam to fill the vacancy created on the 30th Circuit Court following Judge Fields' retirement at the end of August 2016. Lee Ann Pafford Dobson and David M. Rudolph were also recommended by the commission. Ultimately, Haslem announced Wagner as his selection on October 24, 2016.[2][3]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mary L. Wagner did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Appointments
2024
On February 1, 2024, Governor Bill Lee nominated Mary L. Wagner to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Court. Wagner's nomination was confirmed by the Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee State Senate in a joint session on March 11, 2024.[4] Wagner replaces Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger A. Page, who retired on August 31, 2024.[5] Page's replacement will be Governor Lee's (R) third nominee to the five-member supreme court.
In Tennessee, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
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.[8]
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.[9] 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.[8]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Tennessean, "Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger Page to retire in 2024," November 20, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedappointment - ↑ Daily News, "Daily Digest," August 10, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Office of the Governor, "Justice Page Announces August 2024 Retirement," November 20, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "nom" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Tennessee Courts, "Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger Page to retire in 2024," November 20, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lexis Nexis, "Tennessee Code Annotated § 17-4-101," accessed April 25, 2024 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "VacancyCode" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "VacancyCode" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," archived September 11, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," accessed August 5, 2016
- ↑ TNCourts.gov, "JUSTICE SHARON LEE ELECTED CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT," August 14, 2014
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
