OFFICERS
Chair:
Chancellor Jeffrey M. Atherton
Appointed by: Tennessee Trial Judges Association
Current/Former Trial Judge - East Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Chancellor Atherton was elected to the 11th Judicial District Chancery Court in 2010 and reelected in 2014. He was in private legal practice before becoming a judge. Chancellor Atherton is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Vice Chair
Chancellor Tony Childress
Appointed by: Tennessee Trial Judges Association
Current/Former Trial Judge
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Chancellor Childress was elected to the 29th Judicial District Chancery Court in 2008 and has also served as the presiding judge in that same district since 2008. Prior to being elected Chancellor he served as Dyer County's General Session and Juvenile Court Judge from 2006-2008. Chancellor Childress served as President of the Tennessee Trial Judge Association from 2019-2021. Before becoming a judge he served as an Assistant Public Defender from 1999-2000 and as Staff Attorney for the Western Section of the Court of Appeals from 2000-2006. Chancellor Childress is a graduate of The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphrey's School of Law. Along with his career in the legal field he has also served his community as a school board member and firefighter.
Members
Kimberly Black
Appointed by: Speaker of the Senate
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2028
Ms. Black is the CEO of Trusted Field Services, a commercial concrete business headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. She also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Volunteer Flooring. Ms. Black started Trusted Field Services during the COVID pandemic, which is involved in construction projects throughout the state. A key feature of her company's mission is to employ formerly incarcerated individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses who want to make a change for the better. Ms. Black also works with Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville helping to educate students about the construction industry as a career path.
Judge H. Allen Bray
Appointed by: Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference
Current/Former Municipal Judge Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Judge Bray has been the sitting municipal judge for the City of Alcoa since 1972. He also maintains a private legal practice in Maryville. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Rodney Brown
Appointed by: Speaker of the House
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2028
Business owner in the Upper Cumberland area.
C. Ashley Johnson
Appointed by: Speaker of the House
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
As an Owner of Four Peaks Group, LLC, Mr. Johnson oversees all aspects of a group of companies involved in real estate development, construction, and hospitality. He is a graduate of Carson Newman College and serves as the Chairman of Robert F. Thomas Foundation.
William Koch, Jr.
Appointed by: Speaker of the Senate
Current/Former Judge Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2027
Former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Koch served for 23 years on the Tennessee Court of Appeals before he was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to the state’s highest court in 2007. He won election to the Court in 2008 and stepped down in 2014, subsequently becoming dean of the Nashville School of Law, a position he still holds. Justice Koch received his law degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Law.
Jon C. Lundberg
Appointed by: Speaker of the Senate
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2028
Mr. Lundberg is the president and chief executive officer of Corporate Image, a media and public relations firm headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee. Mr. Lundberg is also CEO of Corporate Marketing, a digital marketing and advertising agency. Mr. Lundberg served two terms in the Tennessee Senate and five terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. He is also a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy.
Judge Camille R. McMullen
Appointed by: Tennessee Supreme Court
Current/Former COA or CCA Judge Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Judge McMullen was first appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 2008 by Governor Phil Bredesen. She won election to a full term in that position in 2014. Judge McMullen previously served as Assistant District Attorney General in Shelby County and as Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Robert Schlafly
Appointed by: Speaker of the Senate
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2028
After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Mr. Schlafly began his career with the State of Tennessee at the Department of Correction as a juvenile probation officer. He later earned his Masters in Public Administration and worked for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury as a program evaluator and investigator. Mr. Schlafly operated the first consumer fraud hotline in the Division of State Audit and later transferred to the TBI where he eventually retired as Special Agent in Charge of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. He has since worked with the TBI in the Training Division and currently serves as a Sergeant at Arms for the Tennessee Senate.
Terica Smith
Appointed by: Governor
Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2027
For the past six years, Ms. Smith has served as an Assistant District Attorney for the 26th Judicial District. Prior to that, she worked for six years as a staff attorney at West Tennessee Legal Services, Inc. In 2018, she was elected vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. She is slated to begin a one-year tenure as president of the YLD in 2020. Ms. Smith is a graduate of The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
Valerie L. Smith
Appointed by: Speaker of the House
Current/Former Judge - West Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2027
Judge Smith joined the 30th Judicial District Circuit Court in 2016 and was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2025. Judge Smith is a graduate of the University of Memphis - Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
Bishop Edward Stephens, Jr.
Appointed by: Speaker of the House
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2025
Bishop Edward H. Stephens, Jr. is the Senior Pastor of the Golden Gate Cathedral in Memphis, TN. He is a member of Memphis Urban League, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Memphis Christian Pastors Network, Sunday of Hope Advisory Board, International Bishops' Conference, Inc., and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. Affiliated with the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, Bishop Stephens serves as a member of the Bishop's Council, and as the Bishop of the Central Region for the FGBCF. He is the founder and C.E.O. OF S.T.A.R. Academy, which is the first college preparatory elementary school in the State of Tennessee offering classes for kindergarten through sixth grade. He has received numerous civic, governmental, and religious awards including the City of Memphis naming a popular thoroughfare in his honor.
Judge John Whitworth
Appointed by: Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Current/Former Judge Member - West
Term Ends: June 30, 2026
Judge Whitworth was appointed to the bench in 2009 and won election in 2014. In addition to his work in the judiciary, Judge Whitworth also owns and practices at Whitworth Law Firm, in Camden. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Robert Wilkinson
Appointed by: Governor
Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2027
Mr. Wilkinson is a private practice attorney in Oak Ridge with over 40 years of legal experience. Prior to going into private practice, he served in active duty in the U. S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps. He is also the past city attorney of the City of Oak Ridge.
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Disciplinary Counsel for Board of Judicial Conduct
Marshall L. Davidson III
Chief Disciplinary Counsel
403 Seventh Avenue North, Room 202
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (629) 224-7482
Shane Hutton
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
403 Seventh Avenue North, Room 202
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (629) 224-7482
Kennedi Eaton
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
403 Seventh Avenue North, Room 202
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (629) 224-7482
Autumn Edwards
Legal Assistant
403 Seventh Avenue North, Room 202
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (629) 224-7482