William Koch
This page is about the Tennessee Supreme Court Justice. If you are looking for the page about the Connecticut Probate Court judge, please see William Koch, Jr.
William C. Koch, Jr. is a former associate justice for the Tennessee Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court by Governor Phil Bredesen (D) in June 2007. In 2008, he was retained for a full eight-year term, which would have expired in 2016. However, Koch retired from the court on July 15, 2014.[1][2][3][4] He was succeeded on the bench by Justice Jeff Bivins.
Education
Koch received his undergraduate degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in 1969, his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1972, and his LL.M. in judicial process from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1996.[5]
Career
- 2007-2014: Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
- 1984-2007: Judge, Tennessee Court of Appeals (appointed by former Governor Lamar Alexander)
- 1981-1984: Counsel to Governor Lamar Alexander
- 1979-1981: Commissioner of personnel, State of Tennessee
- 1979: Legal adviser to Governor Lamar Alexander
- 1977-1979: Deputy attorney general
- 1976-1977: Senior assistant attorney general
- 1972-1976: Assistant attorney general [5]
- 1997-Present: Instructor in constitutional law, Nashville School of Law
- 1988-1995: Instructor, Vanderbilt University School of Law [5]
Awards and associations
Awards
- 2002: Tennessee Appellate Judge of the Year, American Board of Trial Advocates
- 1998, 1999, and 2001: Fourth-Year Instructor of the Year, Nashville School of Law [5]
Associations
- 2005-Present: Board of Trustees, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
- 2000-Present: Board of Trustees, American Inns of Court
- 1995-Present: President, Harry Phillips American Inn of Court
- 1980-Present: Board of Trustees, United Way of Metropolitan Nashville
- 1985-1988: Executive Committee, Tennessee Judicial Conference [5]
Elections
2008
Koch was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court with 76.1% of the vote.[6]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Koch received a campaign finance score of 0.84, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative than the average score of -0.02 that justices received in Tennessee.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, 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 an academic summary of various relevant factors.[7]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tennessee Supreme Court William Koch. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Tennessee State Courts, "Justice William C. Koch"
- Tennessee State Courts, "Tennessee Supreme Court"
- Tennessee State Courts, "Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Biographies"
- Legal Newsline, "Koch the answer for Tenn. SC," June 15, 2007
Footnotes
- ↑ Tennessee State Courts, "Justice William C. Koch," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "August 7, 2008 Primary Election Official Results," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee State Courts, "Supreme Court Justice Koch Announces Retirement to Become Dean at Nashville School of Law," December 19, 2013
- ↑ The Chattanoogan, "Commission Accepting Applications For Tennessee Supreme Court Vacancy," January 27, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Tennessee State Courts, "Justice William C. Koch," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ State of Tennessee, "Judicial retention for Supreme Court Justice William C. Koch, August 7, 2008 Results," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
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
