Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton will join Tennessee’s new Board of Judicial Conduct when it convenes July 1.
The legislature created the Board of Judicial Conduct to investigate and act on complaints against judges. Members are appointed by multiple appointing authorities, including the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House and various judicial conferences.
“The independence of the judiciary must be considered in conjunction with the public’s perception that members of the judiciary are just, fair and impartial,” Atherton says. “The Board of Judicial Conduct provides the degree of accountability necessary to promote both. I’m honored to be appointed and will do my best to ensure complaints are addressed in a timely and equitable manner.”
Atherton presides over Part 2 of the Chancery Court for the 11th Judicial District of Tennessee in Hamilton County. Before ascending to the bench in 2010, he was an attorney with a general civil legal practice.
Atherton has trial experience in federal and state courts and appellate experience in the Tennessee Court of Appeals, the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Atherton earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1987 and has been a licensed attorney in Tennessee since 1988.
His professional memberships include the Chattanooga Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Trial Judges Association and the Tennessee Judicial Conference.
Atherton has served as a TBA high school mock trial coach for about 30 years, with his teams winning national championships in 2002, 2003 and 2007.
A community-minded citizen, Atherton has served as deacon and commander of the AWANA Youth Ministry of Oakwood Baptist Church in Chattanooga and as a ministry board member of the Tennessee Valley AWANA Ministry.
He has also served as board member and camp counsellor for the Dixieland Leadership Camp for over 20 years.
In recognition of his exemplary service, the CBA awarded Atherton its Ralph H. Kelley Humanitarian Award in 2008. In addition, the Civil Air Patrol bestowed its Commander’s Award to Atherton.
Atherton and his wife, Angie, married in 1982. They have four children and three grandchildren.
Atherton will join Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Camille McMullen (Western Grand Division), 18th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Dee David Gay (Middle Grand Division), Stewart County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge G. Andrew Brigham (Middle Grand Division), Municipal Court Judge H. Allen Bray (East Grand Division), Benton County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge John Whitworth (West Grand Division).
The current Board of Judicial Conduct will sunset June 30.
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Source: Tennessee Supreme Court; Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton