Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Tennessee Supreme Court justice vacancy (June 2026)
| Tennessee Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Kirby vacancy |
| Date: June 30, 2026 |
| Status: Retirement scheduled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: To be determined |
| Date: To be determined |
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby is retiring on June 30, 2026. She announced her retirement in a press release dated September 23, 2025.[1] Kirby's replacement will be Governor Lee's (R) fourth 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.[2][3] Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.[4]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Tennessee Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2026.
Appointee candidates and nominations
Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in 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.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Tennessee Supreme Court
Justices
Following Kirby's retirement, the Tennessee Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Dwight Tarwater | Appointed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) in 2023 | |
| ■ Jeff Bivins | Appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam (R) in 2014 | |
| ■ Sarah Campbell | Appointed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) in 2022 | |
| ■ Mary L. Wagner | Appointed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) in 2024 |
About the court
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 Jeff Bivins. 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.[5]
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.
About Justice Kirby
- See also: Holly Kirby
Kirby received her undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Memphis in 1979 and her J.D. from the University of Memphis School of Law in 1982.[6] Kirby began her legal career in 1982 as a law clerk to Judge Harry Wellford of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. She then worked as an attorney in private practice from 1983 to 1995 and later became a partner at the firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson. She was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals in 1995. Kirby was the first woman to serve on the court of appeals. She was retained to this court in August 1996, 1998, 2006, and 2014. In late 2013, she was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section, effective September 1, 2014.[6][7]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2026
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2026
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2026. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2025.
| 2026 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tennessee Courts, "Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby Announces Retirement," September 23, 2025
- ↑ Lexis Nexis, "Tennessee Code Annotated § 17-4-101," accessed April 25, 2024
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedTNgeneral - ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," accessed August 5, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee State Courts, "About the Supreme Court," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Tennessee State Courts, "Holly Kirby," accessed Jully 28, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedsupremeappoint
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
| |||||||
