After a judicial career spanning more than three decades, including 23 years on the appellate bench, Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Ben Cantrell of Nashville will retire effective Sept. 1. The 17-member Judicial Selection Commission will meet in August to conduct a public hearing and interview applicants hoping to succeed Cantrell.
A slate of three names will be submitted to Gov. Phil Bredesen, who will appoint a new Court of Appeals judge. A deadline for applications and a meeting date and location have not been determined. Cantrell’s successor will then run on a yes-no retention ballot in the next August biennial election in 2004 to fill the remainder of the unexpired term ending in 2006.
Cantrell was appointed in 1973 to the Chancery Court in Davidson County and was elected a year later. In 1980, Gov. Lamar Alexander appointed him to the Court of Appeals. He was elected to eight-year terms in 1982, 1990 and 1998. He has been presiding judge of the court’s middle division since 1998. The 12-member Court of Appeals, sitting in panels of three, hears appeals of trial court decisions in civil cases. The court normally meets in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson.