VOTE411 Voter Guide

I practiced law in Chancery Court for more than 37 years before Governor Lee appointed me to be your Chancery Court Judge. I handled thousands of family law cases, and I am the only candidate with extensive experience handling real property, probate matters and court cases involving elected government officials. Additionally, I am the only candidate with experience as a Chancery Court Judge. My wife and I moved to Oak Ridge by choice in 1987. We raised our family here. Anderson County is our home. I am honored to serve you as your Chancellor, and I am asking for your vote and support in the Republican Primary March 5th.

Docket Control is our challenge. We expect the number of cases filed each year to increase because of the population growth in Anderson County. I am actively working to clear the back log of cases. We hold court every morning, Monday through Friday and we have added the option of a 1:00 pm docket to provide additional opportunities for cases to be heard for those with scheduling conflicts.

The State of Tennessee is investing in a statewide system for electronic filing which should be uniform for all courts and must be accessible to citizens who represent themselves. We are upgrading the audio/video capabilities in the courtroom to improve efficiency and expand opportunities for parties to have court access.

Since passing the bar in 2005, my practice has been primarily focused on family law and domestic relations cases. This is approximately eighty (80) percent of the current case load for our Anderson County Chancery Court. I have handled approximately 955 cases in our Anderson County Chancery Court since 2005. This also involves estates, real estate cases, and adoptions/termination cases as well.

I have also served as a Rule 31 mediator in hundreds of cases for local attorneys involving domestic relations/custody/divorce matters as well.

I have extensive experience handling, resolving, and trying the cases that are typically presented to the Anderson County Chancery Court.

I expect the Court docket to continue to grow each year, and there could also be a push to incorporate other matters into our Chancery Court due to the fact that it has jurisdiction to hear the same matters as our Circuit/Criminal Court. I would plan to make sure cases are heard, and expedited in a timely manner. It is very important that the citizens of our county are afforded a voice in our Court, and that their voice is timely heard before a fair and impartial judge. Further, with my criminal and civil experience, I could handle other matters as needed to ensure our Court is able to effectively serve our community.

The docket system currently used can be implemented to run more efficiently, allowing attorneys to be able to attend to other matters, and allow clients/citizens in attendance to get in and out of court in a timely fashion.

Further, I would want to improve the public’s access to the Court system. Currently there are limited forms for Chancery Court for the public to use. I would like to implement other methods to allow the public easier access to the Court.

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I am a proud 4th generation Anderson Countian who knows and has served this County. I bring 25 years of legal experience that includes 8 years as Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge, having heard several thousands of cases. I recently have been the Director of Legal Operations of a law firm, managing multiple offices and dozens of attorneys across the State of Tennessee, managing their day-to-day operations and assisting and mentoring newer attorneys regarding the law, trial strategy, and ethics. A Rule 31 listed mediator, I have practiced various areas of law and practiced in both state and federal courts throughout my career. I bring a love of this community and a wealth of proven and unmatched experience to this judgeship.

I can see the Court facing an increase in the volume of cases in the coming years. I would address that with increased efficiency by realigning the dockets, and increasing the hours and days the Court is in session if necessary. I would also implement changes in the local rules to increase the use of mediation in cases which could be resolved by the parties using a mediator. This would reduce the number of cases on the dockets and the magnitude of the cases that need to be heard by the Court. That would reduce the volume of cases, making it beneficial to all parties using the court system, while preventing any need for any additional costs, judges or magistrates.

I would like to implement policies and procedures to make the Court run more efficiently, as well as make the court system more accessible to all citizens regardless of their socioeconomic status. I have previously stated some of the improvements I would implement to make the Court run more efficiently. I have the experience, as I served as Judge during the difficult period of COVID-19, keeping the Court running efficiently for the citizens of the County under the mandates of the State Supreme Court. In addition, I would work with the Clerk and Master, the courts, and others, to provide more resources and information to our citizens needing to access the judicial system but that are unable to due to their current financial situation.