TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Oct 22, 2025

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider five applicants when it meets to select nominees for an upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Supreme Court following the retirement of Justice Holly Kirby on June 30, 2026. The applicants are: Court of Appeals Judge Carma Dennis McGee, Court of Criminal Appeals Judges J. Ross Dyer and Kyle A. Hixson, Memphis lawyer Shea Sisk Wellford, and Eileen Kuo, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. Public interviews are scheduled for Nov. 25 at 9 a.m. CST in the courtroom of the Nashville Supreme Court Building located at 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville 37219. At the conclusion of the interviews, the council will vote to send three applicants to the governor. Any member of the public may attend the hearing and express, orally or in writing, objections concerning any of the applicants. Those with questions should contact Administrative Office of the Court’s Assistant General Counsel Laura Blount at 615-741-2687.