I have received requests from clients, friends and family for my advice in who they should support in the Shelby County Judicial Elections, therefore I provide the public with my opinions below.
I think it is helpful for the reader to know a little bit about me as that provides some understanding for the basis of my opinions of the Judicial Candidates for Shelby. I am a 37 year old male civil attorney practicing law mainly in Shelby County I began my legal career in the fall of 2005 and prior to that I was a Law Enforcement Officer for the National Park Service. I am known for candor and telling it like it is regardless of the consequences.
I was the head of the Memphis Bar Association’s Probate and Estate Planning Section for two terms/years. I practice in Probate Court, Circuit Court, Juvenile Court, Chancery Court and General Sessions Civil Court. In these Courts I have appeared before all of the Judges. It is rare to see me in Criminal Courts for anything more than a speeding ticket so if I voice an opinion in any of those races it is because of my personal dealings with the candidates.
I will start by linking to the complete ballot then give you my endorsements and finally links for informational sources so you can make educated decisions about the candidates. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me at the address provided at the bottom of this blog with Judicial Election in the subject line.
The entire Ballot can be found here:
http://shelbyvote.com/DocumentCenter/View/9863
On the ballot there are several retention races where we can either select retain or do not retain for Appeallate and Supreme Court Judges my recommendation is to retain every one of our Appeallate and Supreme Court Judges.
Here are the contested races on the Aug. 7 ballot and the individuals that I recommend:
CIRCUIT COURT
Div. 1: Kyle Wiggins
Div. 2: James F. Russell,
Div. 3: Lee Ann Pafford Dobson
Div. 4: Gina Carol Higgins,
Div. 5: Joseph E. "Joe" Garrett,
Div. 8: Robert "Bob" Weiss,
Chancery Court
Part 1: Walter L. Evans
Part 2: Jim Newsom
Probate Court
Div. 1: Kathleen N. Gomes,
Div. 2: Karen D. Webster
Criminal Court
Div. 1: Paula Skahan
Div. 3: Bobby Carter
Div. 5: Jim Lammey,
Div. 6: John W. Campbell
Div. 7: Lee V. Coffee
Div. 9: Mark Ward
General Sessions Court
Div. 1, Civil: Lynn Cobb
Div. 2, Civil: Phyllis B. Gardner,
Div. 3, Civil: David L. Pool
Div. 5, Civil: Ellen Fite or Betty Thomas Moore (I have a hard time with this because Judge Thomas Moore is a good Judge but I think Ellen Fite could possibly be one of the best Judges if elected)
Div. 6, Civil: Lonnie Thompson
Div. 7, Criminal: Bill Anderson Jr.
Div. 8, Criminal: Tim J. Dwyer
Div. 9, Criminal: Joyce Broffitt
Div. 10, Criminal: Chris Turner
Div. 11, Criminal: Karen Lynne Massey
Div. 12, Criminal: S. Ronald (Ron) Lucchesi,
Div. 14, Criminal (Environmental): Larry Potter
Juvenile Court: Dan Holman Michael
All attorneys are governed by licensing requirements and a code of ethics that must be followed, if there is a problem then the attorney is disciplined which can be a slap on the wrist or a loss of their law license. Check for the Judicial Candidate’s record with the TN Board of Professional Responsibility for any discipline here:
http://tbpr.org/Consumers/AttorneySearch/
Clients and Attorneys can post reviews of attorneys on Avvo and Avvo gives the attorney an opportunity to respond to the review. This can be a good indicator as to the attorney’s demeanor if there are multiple bad reviews. My own profile on Avvo has both good and bad reviews and I feel those reviews are fair. See what clients and other attorneys have to say about the candidate on Avvo:
http://www.avvo.com/find-a-lawyer
The following links are to the list of sitting Judges so you can determine the incumbent if there is one:
General Sessions Judges Civil Division:
http://gs4.shelbycountytn.gov/Directory.aspx?DID=4
General Sessions Judges Criminal Division:
http://gs4.shelbycountytn.gov/Directory.aspx?DID=5
Chancery Court:
http://www.shelbycountytn.gov/index.aspx?NID=327
Circuit Court:
http://www.shelbycountytn.gov/index.aspx?NID=341
Criminal Court:
http://www.shelbycountytn.gov/index.aspx?NID=345
Probate Court
http://www.shelbycountytn.gov/index.aspx?NID=381
Articles from the Memphis Commercial Appeal
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/politics/2014-elections/wouldbe-memphis-judges-have-arrests-ethics-charges-on-records_12095738
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/politics/2014-elections/restrictions-and-sheer-numbers-make-it-difficult-for-memphis-judicial-candidates-to-draw_46722462
http://www.commercialappeal.com/2014-elections
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/politics/2014-elections/judicial_elections_factbox_48502624
Link to the Memphis Bar Associations Lawyer’s Poll on the Judicial Candidates:
http://www.memphisbar.org/sites/480/uploaded/files/2014_Memphis_Bar_Association_JQP_printable.pdf
J. Vincent Perryman, Esq., LL.M.
Law Offices of J. Vincent Perryman
5100 Wheelis Drive Ste 100
Memphis, TN 38117
Phone: 901.347.0647
Fax: 901.255.0745
E-mail: vperryman@midsouthattorneys.com
www.midsouthattorneys.com