Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Judges appointed by Bill Lee
 |
| State Executive Offices |
| Elections by Year |
| 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 |
| State Executive Analyses |
This page lists judges appointed by Bill Lee (R) during his term as governor of Tennessee. As of October 2025, the total number of Lee appointees was 20. For the full profile of Lee, click here.
As of January 2019, governors in Tennessee were responsible for appointing judges to the five-member Tennessee Supreme Court, the 12-member Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the 12-member Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Tennessee judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Lee.
Appointment process
In Tennessee, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints a judge, she or he must run for retention in the next general election.[1]
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.
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state. These lists are updated automatically with new appointments.
State Courts
Supreme Court
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section |
September 1, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section |
February 10, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section |
September 1, 2024 - Present |
Court of Appeals
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Tennessee Court of Appeals Eastern Section |
August 3, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Appeals Middle Section |
September 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Appeals Western Section |
2019 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Appeals Western Section |
March 24, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section |
March 24, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section |
September 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Eastern Section |
September 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Middle Section |
August 30, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section |
February 10, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Western Section |
March 9, 2023 - Present |
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
10th Judicial District Circuit Court |
July 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
14th Judicial District Circuit Court |
August 16, 2021 - Present |
|
|
19th Judicial District Circuit Court |
2021 - Present |
|
|
24th Judicial District Circuit Court |
October 17, 2021 - Present |
|
|
25th Judicial District Circuit Court |
September 10, 2021 - Present |
|
|
26th Judicial District Chancery Court |
August 13, 2021 - Present |
|
|
30th Judicial District Chancery Court Part I |
June 11, 2021 - September 1, 2022 |
|
|
3rd Judicial District Circuit Court |
October 12, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Knox County Chancery Court |
January 23, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee 13th Judicial District Criminal Court |
2023 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee 13th Judicial District Criminal Court |
July 8, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Tennessee 20th Judicial District Circuit Court Division IV |
January 11, 2023 - September 1, 2024 |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee
| Judicial selection in Tennessee | |
 | |
| Tennessee Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Tennessee Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Tennessee Chancery Courts | |
| Method: | Partisan election and Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Tennessee Criminal Court | |
| Method: | Partisan election and Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
| Tennessee Circuit Court | |
| Method: | Partisan election and Nonpartisan election |
| Term: | 8 years |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in Tennessee, including:
- Tennessee Supreme Court,
- Tennessee Court of Appeals,
- Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals,
- Tennessee Circuit Court
- Tennessee Criminal Court
- Tennessee Chancery Courts
- Tennessee Probate Court, and
- Limited jurisdiction courts
As of April 2025, judges and justices for all three appellate courts were appointed by the governor with help from a judicial nominating commission, approved by the legislature, and faced retention elections at the end of their terms. Trial Court judges were nominated by a mix of partisan elections and nonpartisan elections.
Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[2] |
|---|
|
|
| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[3] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[4] | 1[5] | 17[6] |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Judicial appointments 'Bill Lee'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
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.[7]
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
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," archived September 11, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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
