TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Female Judges Discuss Narrowing Gender Gap Across State Judiciary

Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Sep 3, 2024
News Type: Legal News

The Daily Memphian has an in depth look at the increasing number of women judges across the state, which is leading to an increase in mentors for new female judges — a development Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby says is a sign of progress for the legal profession. Today, one third of Tennessee's 230 judges are women, including Kirby, who was the first woman to serve on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and is the fourth female chief justice. Other "firsts" in the state include Bernice Donald, who was the first Black female judge in Tennessee when she was elected to Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court in 1982 and was the first Black female judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Julia Smith Gibbons became the first female trial court judge of record when she was appointed to the Shelby County Circuit Court in 1981. And Judge Camille McMullen was the first Black woman to serve on an intermediate court in the state when she was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in 2008. The paper interviewed a number of these judges to get their perspectives on the diminishing gender gap.

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