TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on Sep 26, 2023

Retired Davidson County Judge Seth Norman has died at age 89, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts reports. Norman served as a criminal court judge from 1990 until his retirement in 2018. He was widely recognized for establishing the Davidson County Drug Court in 1996, one of the first recovery courts in the country. In 1998, the program started the first court-operated residential drug court in the United States. Norman also founded the 13th Judicial District Recovery Court in 2011 and the Morgan County Residential Recovery Court in 2013. Norman was a native of Nashville and had enrolled at Vanderbilt University before leaving college to enlist in the United States Air Force, where he served from 1953-1957. He continued his service in the Tennessee Air National Guard until 1965. He also continued his education, graduating from the Nashville School of Law in 1962.