Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

 

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
Court information
Judges:	12
Salary:	Associates: $226,944
Judicial selection
Method:	Assisted appointment
Term:	8 years

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals is an intermediate appellate court in Tennessee. Established in 1967, it hears appeals of only criminal cases in the state. Appeals of civil cases are heard by the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The court consists of 12 judges, increased from nine in 1996, that sit in three-person panels to hear cases. Decisions of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals may be appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, and capital cases are appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court automatically.

• Published opinions of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals can be found here.

Judges

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
J. Ross Dyer	April 18, 2016 - Present	Bill Haslam
Camille McMullen	1999 - Present	Phil Bredesen
John W. Campbell	February 10, 2022 - Present	Bill Lee
Matthew Wilson	March 9, 2023 - Present	Bill Lee
Robert L. Holloway	August 21, 2014 - Present	Bill Haslam
Timothy L. Easter	September 1, 2014 - Present	Bill Haslam
Jill Ayers	August 30, 2021 - Present	Bill Lee
Robert Wedemeyer	2000 - Present	Gov. Don Sundquist (R)
Kyle Hixson	September 1, 2022 - Present	Bill Lee
Tom Greenholtz	September 1, 2022 - Present	Bill Lee
Steven W. Sword	March 24, 2025 - Present	Bill Lee
Robert H. Montgomery	September 1, 2014 - Present	Bill Haslam

Salary

See also: Tennessee court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $226,944, according to the National Center for State Courts.

Former judges

• Alan Glenn
• J.C. McLin
• Norma McGee Ogle
• Roger A. Page
• Jerry L. Smith
• D. Kelly Thomas
• Joseph Tipton
• John Everett Williams
• James Witt
• Thomas Woodall

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee

The twelve judges on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals 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. Judges face retention elections at the end of their terms.

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 this court, a judge must be:

• authorized to practice law in the state;
• a district resident;
• a state resident for five years; and
• at least 30 years old.

Vacancies

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the governor appoints a replacement judge 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. Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.

Elections

• 2030
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022

See also: Tennessee intermediate appellate court elections, 2030

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

See also: Tennessee intermediate appellate court elections, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

Steven W. Sword is running for retention to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section on August 6, 2026.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
	Yes
	No
	Total Votes

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Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

See also: Tennessee intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

Matthew Wilson was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section on August 1, 2024 with 74.1% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	74.1	393,797
	No	25.9	137,970
	Total Votes		531,767

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The results have been certified. Source

See also: Tennessee intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

Robert H. Montgomery was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.7% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.7	441,182
	No	26.3	157,829
	Total Votes		599,011

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The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section

James Witt was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.3% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.3	438,454
	No	26.7	159,799
	Total Votes		598,253

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The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Jill Ayers was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.9% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.9	441,622
	No	26.1	156,214
	Total Votes		597,836

---

The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Timothy L. Easter was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.3% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.3	437,034
	No	26.7	159,284
	Total Votes		596,318

---

The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Robert Wedemeyer was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section on August 4, 2022 with 72.1% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	72.1	428,012
	No	27.9	165,874
	Total Votes		593,886

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The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section

Robert L. Holloway was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.3% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.3	437,637
	No	26.7	159,354
	Total Votes		596,991

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The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

Camille McMullen was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section on August 4, 2022 with 74.1% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	74.1	443,993
	No	25.9	155,125
	Total Votes		599,118

---

The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

John W. Campbell was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.4% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.4	437,151
	No	26.6	158,067
	Total Votes		595,218

---

The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

John Everett Williams was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.9% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.9	442,506
	No	26.1	156,016
	Total Votes		598,522

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The results have been certified. Source

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section

J. Ross Dyer was retained to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.2% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	73.2	435,311
	No	26.8	159,230
	Total Votes		594,541

---

The results have been certified. Source

Previous election results

2016

See also: Tennessee judicial elections, 2016

Judges who faced retention

■ J. Ross Dyer (Western Section) (Retained)
■ Timothy L. Easter (Middle Section) (Retained)
■ Robert L. Holloway (Middle Section) (Retained)
■ Robert H. Montgomery (Eastern Section) (Retained)

Election results

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, J. Ross Dyer, 2016
Name	Yes votes
J. Ross Dyer	71.55%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, Timothy L. Easter, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Timothy L. Easter	71.36%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, Robert L. Holloway, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Robert L. Holloway	72.35%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Retention, Robert H. Montgomery, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Robert H. Montgomery	71.89%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

2014

Retention

Judge	Election Vote
WittJames Witt	65.1%   A
BivinsJeff Bivins	65.2%   A
PageRoger A. Page	64.9%   A
McMullenCamille McMullen	64.0%   A
ThomasD. Kelly Thomas	64.9%   A
GlennAlan Glenn	65.0%   A
OgleNorma McGee Ogle	64.0%   A
WedemeyerRobert Wedemeyer	64.1%   A
WilliamsJohn Everett Williams	65.6%   A
WoodallThomas T. Woodall	65.2%   A

See also: Tennessee judicial elections, 2014

2012

Judge	Incumbency	Retention vote	Retention Vote %
BivinsJeff Bivins   A	Yes		71.15%A
PageRoger A. Page   A	Yes		71.16%A

See also: Tennessee judicial elections, 2012

Ethics

The Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Tennessee. It is composed of four canons:

“

Canon 1 — A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. Canon 2 — A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently. Canon 3 — A judge shall conduct the judge’s personal and extrajudicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office. Canon 4 — A judge or candidate for judicial office shall not engage in political or campaign activity that is inconsistent with the independence, integrity, or impartiality of the judiciary.

”

The full text of the Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Tennessee may be removed in one of two ways:

• Removal by a two-thirds vote of each house of the General Assembly, after recommendation from the court of the judiciary
• Conviction by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, following impeachment by a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives

State profile

Demographic data for Tennessee
	Tennessee	U.S.
Total population:	6,595,056	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	41,235	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	77.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	16.8%	12.6%
Asian:	1.6%	5.1%
Native American:	0.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	4.9%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	85.5%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	24.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$45,219	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	21.4%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Tennessee. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Tennessee

Tennessee voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Tennessee, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Tennessee had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

More Tennessee coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Tennessee
• United States congressional delegations from Tennessee
• Public policy in Tennessee
• Endorsers in Tennessee
• Tennessee fact checks
• More...

See also

Tennessee	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Tennessee Tennessee Court of Appeals Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Tennessee Supreme Court	Elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Tennessee	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• Tennessee State Courts, "Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals"

Footnotes

Tennessee courts

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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

State intermediate appellate courts

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