Officers & Members

OFFICERS

Chair:

Judge G. Andrew Brigham
Appointed by: Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference
Current/Former General Sessions Judge - Middle Member
Term Ends; June 30, 2026

Judge Brigham joined the bench as a General Sessions and Juvenile Court judge in 2003. He has been reelected twice to that position, most recently in 2014. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Vice 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.

Members

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, 2025

Business owner in the Upper Cumberland area.

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.

Edwena Crowe
Appointed by: Speaker of the Senate
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2025

Ms. Crowe is Director of Documents and Records Management for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, which operates the Y-12 Nuclear Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Site in Amarillo, Texas. Devoted to serving the community, Ms. Crowe volunteers as a tutor for at-risk youth, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Heritage Club, and serves on several boards, including the Oak Ridge Playhouse, Oak Ridge Fund of Achieving Excellence Foundation Board, and Men of Tomorrow Foundation. 

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, 2024

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. 

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.

Benjamin Purser, Jr.
Appointed by: Speaker of the Senate
Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2025
Mr. Purser currently serves as the founder and director of Purser Security Consulting Group, LLC, which provides security and investigative services to individuals and corporations. He began his career at the FBI, where he worked for 28 years. For 17 of those years he was the FBI’s Senior Supervisory Resident Agent in Nashville. His career also includes time spent as the Assistant Commissioner for Compliance & Integrity for the Tennessee Department of Revenue, and as the Vice President of Risk Management for the Sommet Group. Mr. Purser also previously served on the Tennessee Ethics Commission. 

Terica Smith
Appointed by: Governor
Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2024
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, 2024

Judge Smith joined the 30th Judicial District Circuit Court in 2016. Judge Smith is a graduate of the University of Memphis - Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

Dan Springer
Appointed by: Speaker of the Senate

Non-Judge, Non-Attorney Member
Term Ends: June 30, 2025
Dan Springer serves as the deputy director of affairs to Mayor Jim Strickland at City of Memphis government. Prior to serving in this role, Springer was the director of media relations and legislative affairs to Mayor Mark Luttrell at Shelby County Government. Springer earned his undergraduate and MBA from Christian Brothers University in Memphis.

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, 2023

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, 2024
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

Autumn Edwards
Legal Assistant
403 Seventh Avenue North, Room 202
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (629) 224-7482