TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 3, 2024

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee recently voted 5-3 to advance legislation that would move two judicial seats from Shelby County to other locations in the state. Before voting, the members heard from Memphis Bar Association member Justin Joy, who testified against the measure. Specifically, the bill, SB2517/HB2002, would move the circuit court seat held by state Supreme Court designee Mary Wagner to the East Tennessee district composed of Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties, while the criminal court seat previously held by Melissa Boyd would go to Montgomery and Robertson counties. Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, offered an unsuccessful amendment to keep the positions in Memphis, but then was able to add language stating that if the bill becomes law, there should be an identifiable backlog where those cases could be distributed to circuit court judges with concurrent jurisdictions. Read more from Action News 5. The House Civil Justice Committee also approved its version of the bill yesterday, sending it to the Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee.