Washington County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Robert Lincoln has been named the 2018 recipient of the McCain-Abernathy Award.
The award is presented annually by the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in recognition of a judge with juvenile jurisdiction who has rendered outstanding service to the improvement of juvenile justice in the state.
Judge Lincoln has served the children and families of Washington County since 1998, when he was first elected to the General Sessions Court. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2014. During his time on the bench, Judge Lincoln's many accomplishments include a leadership role in the creation of the Washington County Mental Health Court.
Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Lincoln was in private practice for several years. The Kingsport native is a 1989 graduate of the University of Memphis’s Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. He received his undergraduate degree from Randolph-Macon College.
The McCain-Abernathy Award was named in memory of two Tennessee judges. Judge Elizabeth McCain, of Shelby County, was active in the Council and served voluntarily as executive secretary of TCJFCJ for a number of years. In 1991, the membership voted to add Judge Jerome Abernathy’s name to the award. Judge Abernathy, of Giles County, served as the Council’s president in 1989-90.
Judge Lincoln has previously been recognized with a number of different awards, including the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Model Project Award in 2007 and the Frank G. Clement Community Service Award.
