Longtime Wilson County General Sessions Judge Haywood Barry will retire effective Dec. 31, after nearly five decades in courtrooms and public service, the Tennessean reports. At that time, the Wilson County Commission will elect someone to fill Barry’s seat until the 2022 election. Barry was elected General Sessions Division II judge in 2014. He had previously announced he would not seek re-election at the end of the current term. Prior to joining the bench, Barry served on the Lebanon City Council, was a substitute judge throughout Middle Tennessee and served as Wilson County General Sessions judge in Division I for 24 years. Barry also been an active member in the Tennessee General Session Judges Conference and several legal and judicial organizations.

Johnathan Minga has announced he plans to run in the Republican primary for Washington County General Sessions Judge, Part III. A Washington County native, Minga earned his law degree from the Appalachian School of Law. He has practiced in several areas since launching his legal career in 2008, including family law, criminal defense, juvenile law, civil litigation and personal injury. Minga joined the Law Offices of Tony Seaton in 2019, where he focuses on serious personal injury and trial practice. He has previously served on the board of the Washington County Bar Association and is a current board member of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association.

Defense attorney Amanda Dunn this morning announced that she is running to fill the seat of retiring Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole, the Chattanoogan reports. Dunn has been a defense attorney for nearly 20 years and has practiced with Chattanooga’s Houston & Alexander law firm since 2018. “I’m one of the rare attorneys in town who has practiced in criminal, state and federal court, along with juvenile court,” Dunn said this morning. “I’ve been in every courthouse with the exception of bankruptcy.” Poole oversees the third division of criminal court, which is in charge of mental health court.

Twelfth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Justin Angel has announced he will seek re-election in 2022, the Chattanoogan reports. Angel was elected to the bench in 2014 and presides over the civil and criminal matters and jury trials of Bledsoe, Sequatchie, Rhea, Marion, Franklin and Grundy counties. Angel has twice served on the Executive Committee for the Tennessee Judicial Conference and is currently Presiding Judge of the 12th Judicial District and president of the 12th Judicial District Bar Association. He has presided over several high-profile cases and in 2019 ordered the release of Adam Braseel, a Grundy County man wrongfully convicted of murder, which gained national attention. “I hope to continue my work and life’s dedication to the law and justice for another term as a Circuit Court Judge,” Angel said.

Jeff Preptit, an attorney in the Nashville Public Defender's office, has filed to run for the open state House District 59 seat, the Nashville Post reports. That seat is currently uncontested and held by retiring Democratic Rep. Jason Potts. Preptit is the son of Haitian refugees and received his law degree from Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. “For my entire adult life, I have been committed to serving my community and seeking to make it a better place by serving as a public defender,” Peptit told the Post. “I am exploring a run for House District 59 to continue to help cultivate an institutional structure that supports all Tennesseans and works to extend opportunity to every corner of our community and state."

Deana Hood, who serves as the municipal court judge for Spring Hill and Franklin, has announced her candidacy for 21st Judicial District Circuit Court (Division II), the Williamson County Herald reports. According to a statement from her campaign, she will focus on her history of leadership and community service and commitment to the efficient administration of the Williamson County Court System. A 1996 graduate of the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Hood started her career working for the county attorney. She later joined the law firm of Buerger, Moseley & Carson and then in 2000, opened her own firm. She was named municipal judge in Franklin in 2014 and in Spring Hill in 2018.

Memphis City Council member and attorney JB Smiley Jr. formally announced today that he will run for the Democratic nomination for governor, the Daily Memphian reports. Smiley kicked off his campaign in the lobby of the Orpheum theater where he touted a campaign plan he says is different from past Democratic statewide campaigns. “We need to talk about education. We need to talk about how we are going to expand Medicaid,” Smiley said. “We need to talk about what we are going to do with this infrastructure. … We need broadband access.” Other contenders in the Democratic primary include Nashville physician Dr. Jason Martin, North Memphis activist Carnita Atwater and Casey Nicholson of Greeneville. Smiley opened Smiley & Associates in 2017.

Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley Jr. is expected to formally announce that he is running for governor of Tennessee tomorrow, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The Commercial Appeal reports that Smiley’s campaign sent a media advisory inviting the press to an event tomorrow at the Orpheum Theatre where Smiley will address his potential run for the office. Smiley was elected to Memphis City Council in 2019. He represents Super District 8.

Davidson County General Sessions Judge William E. “Bill” Higgins has announced that he will not run for re-election next year. Instead, he will return to the practice of law when his term expires in September 2022. Higgins has served on the bench since 1980 and was re-elected five times. Prior to joining the court, Higgins practiced law for 13 years and was elected to three terms as a councilman in the 24th District in West Nashville. Read more in a press release from his campaign.

Judge Brody Kane announced today that he plans to seek re-election for the 15th Judicial District Criminal Court. He will run in the Republican primary on May 3. Kane was first elected in 2014 with more than 70% of the vote. Since 2019, he also has presided over and expanded the district’s recovery/drug court. Prior to joining the criminal court, Kane served 10 years as Alexandria municipal judge. He began his career as a Shelby County assistant public defender in 1995. From 1998 to 2014, he was a partner at two law firms in Lebanon. Kane earned his law degree from the University of Memphis in 1995.