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CITY OF KNOXVILLE GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2023
Early Voting October 18-November 2
Why Vote for Judges?
Knoxville’s City Court primarily handles traffic citations and parking tickets. Other city ordinance violations include alcohol (non-DUI), animal control, building & zoning codes, business regulations, environmental, noise, and ordinances involving personal behavior. The Municipal Court judge serves a 4-year term.
The Judicial Committee of the Knoxville Bar Association has developed this section of the KBA website to provide educational resources so voters will know what to look for in a judicial candidate to make an informed decision at the ballot box. However, the primary focus of the site is the biographical profiles of the individual candidates so voters in the City of Knoxville can obtain non-partisan information about candidates running for judge. When reviewing the candidate profiles, carefully consider if the judicial candidate has the breadth of experience relevant to the position they seek.
JUDICIAL CANDIDATE SURVEY: JUNE 26 - JULY 14
DOWNLOAD THE SURVEY RESULTS
The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) has released the results of its Candidate Survey for the City of Knoxville Municipal Judge on the ballot for the August 29 Primary Election. The Survey asked each KBA member to carefully assess whether the candidates have demonstrated the knowledge, skill, experience, training, education, professional ethics, and temperament to fulfill the duties of Municipal Court Judge. The candidates were rated according to the following options: Strongly Recommend, Recommend, Do Not Recommend, Strongly Do Not Recommend, and Do Not Know Well Enough to Rate Candidate. If an attorney did not know the candidates’ qualifications or had no opinion, they were instructed to mark “Do Not Know Well Enough to Rate Candidate.”
“The intent is not to endorse any particular candidate, but rather to inform the public of the opinions of the attorneys actively practicing in East Tennessee regarding candidates’ fitness to serve in the judicial and related offices to which they are seeking election. The Knoxville Bar Association is pleased to provide this service to members of our community who have few, if any, encounters with the court system,” said KBA President Loretta Cravens about the KBA’s Membership Survey policy. “An informed electorate is vital to the efficient administration of justice.”
The Survey was conducted electronically from June 26 until noon on July 14, 2023.
Electing judges who most closely meet the criteria for the highest qualified candidates is of utmost importance because you never know when a judge you vote for today will make a decision that will affect your business, or even more importantly, the decision may impact the lives of your family and friends. We are responsible for voting for judges we can trust to make impartial decisions based on fair consideration of the facts and law. That is why voting for qualified people to be judges is so important.
Public Resources
Knox County Election Commission
League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County
Register to Vote
Confirm Voter Registration Status
Update your Voter Registration
GoVoteTN App
Information for Judicial Candidates
- Municipal Court, also known as City Court, is a limited jurisdiction court authorized under Tennessee Code Annotated and the City of Knoxville Charter.
Ethics Opinions
Rule 10: Code of Judicial Conduct
Tennessee Code Annotated
City of Knoxville Charter
FAIR & IMPARTIAL COURTS
In America, courts exist to protect people and their rights, to guarantee fairness and justice for all. The procession of people through the nation’s courts reflects the essence and issues within our country, from the smallest traffic offense to the most serious criminal case. Unlike legislators, judges must stand apart from politics and provide fair and impartial resolution of disputes.
In most elections, candidates answer for themselves, but judges and judicial elections are different. Judges are bound by the very code of ethics they follow, which makes them good, fair judges. They can’t comment on cases, out of concern that they would have to remove themselves from a future case due to having prejudged a matter or giving the perception that they lack impartiality.
What Makes Someone a “Good” Judge?
Judges must be impartial, fair, and understand the law. Judges should be selected based on their legal abilities, temperament, and commitment to following the law and deciding cases consistent with a judge’s duty to uphold the law regardless of their personal views. The Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct requires certain characteristics of judges as set forth at http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/rules/supreme-court/10. In addition to being well-versed in the law, highly qualified judicial candidates should have a strong work ethic, intellect and have the type of judicial temperament that includes courtesy, patience, independence, impartiality, and respect for all participants in the legal process. These rules do not allow judicial candidates to discuss their views on controversial issues or to take a public position on issues that might come before the court. As a result, many voters do not have the opportunity to learn much about the judicial candidates.
Let’s Face It - Life Isn't Always Fair
A courtroom is where one goes to go to right a wrong or address an injustice. The peaceful resolution of differences depends on fair judges. When we are involved in a lawsuit, we need to have confidence that judges will decide our case on the basis of the law and the evidence presented - with no consideration of the political affiliation of the individuals involved or who may support or oppose a particular outcome. We want judges’ decisions to be fair and impartial, so that those who win and those who lose know they received a fair hearing and can trust the process.
We Must Not Take the Rule of Law for Granted
In some countries, judges cannot be trusted to decide cases fairly and impartially. They are subject to outside pressures from forces that control the government. Our Constitution creates the judicial branch separate from the other branches of government, so that the courts can provide decisions free from politics and special interests.
Voters Play a Critical Role
The judicial process is threatened when large amounts of money and political pressures are applied to influence how cases are decided in the courts. Voters play a critical role in protecting the courts from those attacks and pressures by determining the best judicial selection processes, rejecting attempts to politicize the courts, and participating in and choosing fair and impartial state court judges. To do this, voters must be fully informed about the value and importance of fair and impartial courts and the role of the courts in our system of government.
Voters who know that special interest attacks and political interference or pressures have no place in the courts will reject efforts to politicize judicial races. When we, as voters, understand what judges do and how the courts are supposed to work, we are more likely to vote based on a judge's character, integrity and willingness to decide cases based on the law and the evidence.
Informed voters will not want judges influenced by politics or special interests, or by fear of losing their position because a powerful group dislikes a particular decision. We should consider the differences between judges and other public officials when we cast our votes. Judges should make decisions based on the law and not be pressured based on politics or special interests.