Court[edit]

The Knox County Criminal Court is a trial court with jurisdiction over criminal matters in Tennessee. The court is located in Knox County.^[1]

Judges[edit]

• G. Scott Green

• Steven W. Sword

Former judges[edit]

• Mary Beth Leibowitz

• Bobby Ray McGee

See also[edit]

• Courts in Tennessee
• Tennessee Criminal Courts
• Judicial selection in Tennessee

External links[edit]

• Tennessee State Courts, "Circuit, Criminal, & Chancery Courts"
• Tennessee State Courts, "Tennessee Judicial District Map"

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Elections[edit]

See also: Tennessee judicial elections

Tennessee is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Tennessee, click here.

• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2024
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2023
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2022
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2021
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2020
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2019
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2018
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2017
• Tennessee local trial court judicial elections, 2016
• Tennessee judicial elections, 2014
• Tennessee judicial elections, 2012
• Tennessee judicial elections, 2010

Selection method[edit]

Judges of the criminal court are elected in partisan elections. Each county may opt to hold nonpartisan elections instead. Judges serve eight-year terms, after which they must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving.^[2][3]

The presiding judge of each court is elected to a one-year term by peer vote.^[4]

Qualifications
To serve on the court, a judge must be:^[2]

• authorized to practice law in state;
• a district resident for at least one year;
• a state resident five years; and
• at least 30 years old.

Election rules[edit]

Primary election[edit]

Primary elections may be held for trial court judges. The political parties in each county determine whether or not there will be a primary election in their respective counties.

County primary elections[edit]

Counties that are having a primary election will have them on a Tuesday in May. The candidate who wins the county primary election in May will then move on to the county general election in August and run against other party candidates that won their respective primaries.^[5]

Primary elections in Tennessee serve to designate a party's nomination and narrow the field down to one candidate from that party for a specific office. A candidate who wins their primary nomination will move on to the general election.^[5] It is not uncommon for a candidate to run unopposed in their party primary and then go on to run unopposed in the general election as well. Similarly, candidates may win their primary and go on to run unopposed in the general election.

Voters do not need to declare their party affiliation when they register to vote. However, primary voters must declare whether or not they will be voting in the Democratic or Republican primary.^[5]

Footnotes[edit]