TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Mar 27, 2026

For the first time, a panel of the Tennessee Court of Appeals composed entirely of women judges convened in Nashville on March 24. Judges Carma Dennis McGee, Kristi M. Davis and Valerie L. Smith sat together during the court’s regular monthly session, a milestone made possible by the court’s traveling judge assignments. “When I came on the court in 2019, I was the only female,” said Judge McGee. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby, one of the court’s early female pioneers, called the panel inspirational, noting the progress of women in the judiciary. Read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.