Tennessee Supreme Court

Tennessee Supreme Court
Court Information
Justices: 5
Founded: 1870
Location: Jackson, Knoxville, and Nashville, Tennessee
Salary
Associates: $228,132
Judicial Selection
Method: Assisted appointment
Term: 8 years
Active justices
Jeff Bivins, Sarah Campbell, Holly Kirby, Dwight Tarwater, Mary L. Wagner

Founded in 1870, the Tennessee Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Holly Kirby. In 2018, the court decided 1,003 cases.

As of September 2024, five judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor.

The Tennessee Supreme Court meets in Jackson, Knoxville, and Nashville, Tennessee.

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.

Jurisdiction

The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort. The court hears appeals of civil and criminal cases from lower state courts, such as the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. The supreme court may assume jurisdiction over undecided cases in the court of appeals or court of criminal appeals when a decision is needed on an emergency basis. The court also has appellate jurisdiction in cases involving state taxes, the right to hold public office, and issues of constitutional law.

Direct appeals may be taken to the supreme court in workers compensation cases, expedited appeals regarding denial of consent for abortion of minors, and disciplinary actions for attorneys.

The following text from Article VI, Section 2 of the Tennessee Constitution details the organization and jurisdiction of the court:

“	Section 2: The Supreme Court shall consist of five judges, of whom not more than two shall reside in any one of the grand divisions of the state. The judges shall designate one of their own number who shall preside as chief justice. The concurrence of three of the judges shall in every case be necessary to a decision. The jurisdiction of this court shall be appellate only, under such restrictions and regulations as may from time to time be prescribed by law; but it may possess such other jurisdiction as is now conferred by law on the present Supreme Court. Said court shall be held at Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson.	”
—Tennessee Constitution, Article VI, Section 2

Justices

The table below lists the current justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office.

Office	Name	Party	Date assumed office
Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section	Dwight Tarwater	Nonpartisan	September 1, 2023
Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section	Jeff Bivins	Nonpartisan	July 15, 2014
Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section	Sarah Campbell	Nonpartisan	February 10, 2022
Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section	Holly Kirby	Nonpartisan	September 1, 2014
Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section	Mary L. Wagner	Nonpartisan	September 1, 2024

Vacancies

As of September 2024, there were no vacancies on the court.

Judicial selection

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.

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.

Chief justice

According to the Tennessee Constitution, the justices of the supreme court select the chief justice. The chief justice serves a four-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

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. Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court elections

2024

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2024

The term of one Tennessee Supreme Court justice expired on September 1, 2024. The one seat was up for retention election on August 1, 2024. The filing deadline was April 4, 2024.

Candidates and results

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

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It has been certified. Source

2022

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2022

The terms of five Tennessee Supreme Court justices expired on September 1, 2022. The five seats were up for retention election on August 4, 2022.

Candidates and results

Middle Section

Bivins' seat

Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section, Bivins' seat

Jeff Bivins was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section on August 4, 2022 with 71.5% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	71.5	462,036
			No	28.5	183,853
			Total Votes		645,889

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It has been certified. Source

Campbell's seat

Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section, Campbell's seat

Sarah Campbell was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section on August 4, 2022 with 72.9% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	72.9	466,860
			No	27.1	173,306
			Total Votes		640,166

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It has been certified. Source

Eastern Section

Lee's seat

Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section, Sharon Lee's seat

Sharon G. Lee was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.0% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	73.0	463,799
			No	27.0	171,522
			Total Votes		635,321

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It has been certified. Source

Western Section

Kirby's seat

Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section, Kirby's seat

Holly Kirby was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section on August 4, 2022 with 73.8% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	73.8	468,351
			No	26.2	166,200
			Total Votes		634,551

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It has been certified. Source

Page's seat

Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section, Roger A. Page's seat

Roger A. Page was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section on August 4, 2022 with 72.1% of the vote.

			Retention  Vote	%	Votes
		✔	Yes	72.1	450,681
			No	27.9	174,269
			Total Votes		624,950

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It has been certified. Source

2016

Three justices faced retention on August 4, 2016.

Justices who faced retention

■ Jeff Bivins (Retained)
■ Holly Kirby (Retained)
■ Roger A. Page (Retained)

Election results

Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Jeff Bivins, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Jeff Bivins	70.79%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Holly Kirby, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Holly Kirby	71.00%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Roger A. Page, 2016
Name	Yes votes
Roger A. Page	70.88%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results

2014

See also: Tennessee judicial elections, 2014 and Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2014

Retention

Judge	Election Vote
WadeGary R. Wade	56.6%   A
LeeSharon Lee	56.0%   A
ClarkCornelia Clark	55.3%   A

• Election history, 2008-2010 (click to expand)

  2010

  See also: 2010 State Supreme Court elections

  Sharon Lee faced retention and was retained.

  Tennessee Supreme Court 2010 General election results
  Candidates		Votes	Percent
  Sharon Lee		n/a	68.2%

  2008

  See also: State Supreme Court elections, 2008

  William Koch, Jr. faced retention and was retained.

  Tennessee Supreme Court 2008 General election results
  Candidates		Votes	Percent
  William Koch, Jr.		n/a	n/a

Appointments

2024

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 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. Wagner replaces Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger A. Page, who retired on August 31, 2024. 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. Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.

2023

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 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.

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.

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.

2021

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court justice vacancy (September 2021)

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) appointed Sarah Campbell to the Tennessee Supreme Court on January 12, 2022. Campbell succeeded Justice Cornelia Clark, who passed away from cancer on September 24, 2021. Campbell is Governor Lee's first nominee to the five-member supreme court.

At the time of the vacancy, midterm vacancies on the court were filled by assisted appointment with legislative approval.

Caseloads

The table below details the number of cases filed with the court and the number of dispositions (decisions) the court reached in each year.

Tennessee Supreme Court caseload data
Year	Filings	Dispositions
2021	762	807
2020	787	824
2019	954	937
2018	1,028	1,003
2017	1,006	978
2016	1,132	1,104
2015	1,106	1,193
2014	1,198	1,153
2013	1,180	1,127
2012	1,052	1,118
2011	1,195	1,228
2010	1,094	1,120
2009	1,086	1,106
2008	1,086	1,030
2007	1,089	1,268

Analysis

Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters (2021)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: Determiners and Dissenters, a study on how state supreme court justices decided the cases that came before them. Our goal was to determine which justices ruled together most often, which frequently dissented, and which courts featured the most unanimous or contentious decisions.

The study tracked the position taken by each state supreme court justice in every case they decided in 2020, then tallied the number of times the justices on the court ruled together. We identified the following types of justices:

• We considered two justices opinion partners if they frequently concurred or dissented together throughout the year.
• We considered justices a dissenting minority if they frequently opposed decisions together as a -1 minority.
• We considered a group of justices a determining majority if they frequently determined cases by a +1 majority throughout the year.
• We considered a justice a lone dissenter if he or she frequently dissented alone in cases throughout the year.

Summary of cases decided in 2020

• Number of justices: 5
• Number of cases: 34
• Percentage of cases with a unanimous ruling: 85.3% (29)
• Justice most often writing the majority opinion: Justice Clark (8)
• Per curiam decisions: 3
• Concurring opinions: 2
• Justice with most concurring opinions: Justice Kirby (2)
• Dissenting opinions: 6
• Justice with most dissenting opinions: Justice Lee (3)

For the study's full set of findings in Tennessee, click here.

Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)

See also: Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship

Last updated: June 15, 2020

In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.

The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation, based on a variety of factors. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on the political or ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. To arrive at confidence scores we analyzed each justice's past partisan activity by collecting data on campaign finance, past political positions, party registration history, as well as other factors. The five categories of Confidence Scores were:

• Strong Democrat
• Mild Democrat
• Indeterminate
• Mild Republican
• Strong Republican

We used the Confidence Scores of each justice to develop a Court Balance Score, which attempted to show the balance among justices with Democratic, Republican, and Indeterminate Confidence Scores on a court. Courts with higher positive Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Republican Confidence Scores, while courts with lower negative Court Balance Scores included justices with higher Democratic Confidence Scores. Courts closest to zero either had justices with conflicting partisanship or justices with Indeterminate Confidence Scores.

Tennessee had a Court Balance Score of 1.80, indicating Republican control of the court. In total, the study found that there were 15 states with Democrat-controlled courts, 27 states with Republican-controlled courts, and eight states with Split courts. The map below shows the court balance score of each state.

Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores (2012)

See also: Bonica and Woodruff campaign finance scores of state supreme court justices, 2012

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Tennessee was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Tennessee received a score of -0.02. Based on the justices selected, Tennessee was the 23rd most liberal court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.

Noteworthy cases

The following are noteworthy cases heard before the Tennessee Supreme Court. For a full list of opinions published by the court, click here. Know of a case we should cover here? Let us know by emailing us.

"Tennessee Plan" litigation

Tennessee Supreme Court

The "Tennessee Plan," refers to the system used for appellate court appointments and elections in Tennessee. Under this system judges are appointed by the governor and stand for retention elections. The system was challenged in 1973 and 1998. In the case of Higgins v. Dunn (1973), the Tennessee Supreme Court held that retention elections were constitutional, as the constitution did not specify what type of elections the General Assembly had to enact for electing judges. Justice Allison Humphries dissented, writing that the supreme court justices approving the constitutionality of the Modified Missouri Plan had made the judicial branch subordinate to the legislative branch. In DeLaney v. Thompson (1998), the plaintiffs alleged that the process was not an "election" in the sense envisioned by the writers of the state constitution and that the court in Higgins v. Dunn was too close to the issue when it issued its decision. DeLaney v. Thompson was appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, at which time the whole court recused itself. A special supreme court appointed by the governor to hear the case declined to rule on the constitutionality of the plan, and remanded the case on a technicality.

Under the "Tennessee Plan" one member of the Tennessee Supreme Court, Penny White, failed to be retained. She was removed from the bench in 1996.

Ethics

Judicial conduct

The Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Tennessee. It consists of four overarching 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 Tennessee's Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here

History of the court

The Watauga Association, a group of about seventy homesteads along the Watauga River in northern Tennessee, formed the first court in the territory in 1772. The five judges also served as legislators. North Carolina took control of the Tennessee frontier in 1776, and shortly after made the Watauga court the county court of common pleas and quarter sessions. Appeals could be granted to the superior court in North Carolina. As more counties formed, a court of common pleas was set up locally to try appeals.

With statehood in 1796, the state's first constitution did not provide for a judicial branch of government, but did provide for courts to be managed by the state legislature. It provided for a three-person superior court of law and equity to act as the superior and appellate court in the state. Lower courts, such as the court of common pleas and quarter sessions, and justices of the peace were also provided. The superior court of law and equity had sole jurisdiction over cases where there was a loss of life and cases above a certain monetary value, and the court also served as an appeals court for the court of common pleas. Justices were elected by the state legislature. President Andrew Jasckson served on this court until 1804.

In 1809 the legislature renamed the superior court the supreme court of errors and appeals. It also created a circuit court to try to alleviate the court's workload. The supreme court of errors and appeals heard large equity cases and appeals from the other courts. The state was also split into five judicial circuits for the supreme court of errors and appeals to cover.

The 1834 state constitution established the judiciary as a co-equal branch of government. It added chancery courts, clarified divisions between courts, and reduced the supreme court's circuit to three districts, with meetings in Knoxville, Nashville, and Jackson.

In 1853, Tennessee voters passed an amendment to the constitution requiring the popular election of justices of the supreme court, as well as lower court judges. a The Tennessee Constitution of 1870, the state's current constitution, enlarged the supreme court to five justices elected by voters to serve eight-year terms. The constitution requires them to meet in Knoxville, Nashville, and Jackson. These cities were the largest in the eastern, middle, and western sections of Tennessee in 1870. The policy of meeting in all three sections was designed to prevent regional bias. At least one justice, but no more than two justices, have to be from one of the three sections of the state.

Former justices

This exhaustive list provides the names of the judges of the Southwest Territory (1790-1796), the district or superior court judges (1796-1809), the judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals (1810-1833), and the supreme court judges under the Tennessee constitutions of 1834 and 1870. Several counties in the state of Tennessee were named after judges on this list. Additionally, Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States and a lawyer by trade, served on the Tennessee Supreme Court for six years prior to his entry into national politics. Note: Not all term end dates are available.

All former justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court:	click for list →
Name:	Dates served:
Willie Blount	1796
Horace H. Harrison	1868
A.D. Bright	1894
Francis Fentress	1918
George H. Brown, Jr.	1980
David Campbell	1790-1796
John McNairy	1790-1796
Joseph Inslee Anderson	1791-1796
William C. Claiborne	1796-1797
Archibald Roane	1796-1801; 1815-1819
Howell Tatum	1797-1798
Andrew Jackson	1798-1804
Hugh Lawson White	1801-1807
John Overton	1804-1810
Thomas Emmerson	1807-1809
Parry W. Humphreys	1807-1809
Samuel Powell	1807-1809
George Washington Campbell	1809-1811
William Wilcox Cooke	1815-1816
John Haywood	1816-1826
Robert Whyte	1816-1834
William Little Brown	1822-1824
Jacob Peck	1822-1834
John Catron	1824-1831
Thomas L. Williams	1826-
Henry Crabb	1826-1827
Nathan Green	1831-1852
William B. Reese	1835-1847
William b. Turley	1835-1850
Robert J. McKinney	1847-1861
Archibald W.O. Totten	1850-1855
Robert Looney Caruthers	1852-1861
William R. Harris	1855-1858
Archibald Wright	1858-
William Frierson Cooper	1861-1886
Samuel Milligan	1864-1868
Alvin Hawkins	1865-1868; 1869-1870
James O. Shackleford	1865-1868
Henry G. Smith	1867-1870
Horace Maynard	1868-
George Andrews	1868-1870
Andrew McClain	1869-1871
Thomas A.R. Nelson	1870-1871
Alfred O.P. Nicholson	1870-1876
John L.T. Sneed	1870-1878
James W. Deaderick	1870-1886
Thomas J. Freeman	1870-1886
Peter Turney	1870-1893
Robert McFarland	1871-1882
James Burch Cooke	1884-1886
David L. Snodgrass	1886-
William C. Folkes	1886-1890
Horace Harmon Lurton	1886-1893
Waller C. Caldwell	1886-1902
Benjamin J. Lea	1890-1894
John Summerfield Wilkes	1893-1908
William K. McAlister	1893-1910
John Knight Shields	1902-1913
Matthew M. Neil	1902-1918
Bennett Douglas Bell	1908-1910
Arthur S. Buchanan	1910-1917
D.L. Lansden	1910-1923
Grafton Green	1910-1947
Samuel Cole Williams	1913-1918
Nathan Lynn Bachman	1918-1923
Frank P. Hall	1918-1926
William Loch Cook	1923-
Alexander W. Chambliss	1923-1947
William H. Swiggart	1926-1934
David William Dehaven	1935-1943
Alan Prewitt	1937; 1941-1941; 1942-1963
A.B. Neil	1942-1960
Frank H. Gailor	1943-
Pride Tomlinson	1947-1961
Hamilton S. Burnett	1947-1973
John E. Swepston	1954-1961
Sam L. Felts	1960-1964
Weldon B. White	1961-1967
Ross W. Dyer	1961-1974
Andrew O. Holmes	1963-1965
Chester C. Chattin	1965-
Larry Barkley Creson	1965-1972
William J. Harbison	1966-1967; 1974-1990
Allison B. Humphreys	1967-1974
George McCanless	1969-
William H.D. Fones	1973-1990
Joe W. Henry	1974-1980
Ray L. Brock, Jr.	1974-1987
Robert E. Cooper	1974-1990
Frank F. Drowota, III	1980-2005
William Dwight Beard	1890, 1984-1910
Charles H. O'Brien	1987-1994
Martha Craig Daughtrey	1990-1993
Lyle Reid	1990-1998
E. Riley Anderson	1990-2006
Adolpho A. Birch, Jr.	1993-2006
Penny J. White	1994-1996
Janice Holder	1996-2014
William M. Barker	1998-2008
William C. Koch, Jr.	2007-2014
Sharon Lee	2009-2023

Video interviews with retired justices

The Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society interviewed nine former justices as part of its effort to "ensur[e] the records and history of the Tennessee Supreme Court and the other courts of Tennessee were not only preserved but also accessible to the citizens of our State." These interviews were recorded and made available online.

Retired Justice Frank F. Drowota, III	Retired Justice William Muecke Barker	Retired Justice Penny J. White
Retired Justice George H. Brown, Jr.	Retired Justice E. Riley Anderson, II	Retired Justice Robert E. Cooper
Retired Justice Martha Craig Daughtrey	Retired Justice Lyle Reed	Retired Justice Adolpho A. Birch

Courts in Tennessee

See also: Courts in Tennessee

In Tennessee, there are three federal district courts, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, a state court of criminal appeals, and trial courts of general and limited. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• State court of criminal appeals
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Tennessee's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Tennessee's state court system.

Party control of Tennessee state government

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government. A state supreme court plays a role in the checks and balances system of a state government.

Tennessee has a Republican trifecta. The Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature.

See also

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

External links

• Tennessee Supreme Court
• Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society

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