TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jan 8, 2026

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments met in Knoxville to select nominees for an upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section. The vacancy will be created with the retirement of Judge D. Michael Swiney on Jan. 12. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the council selected the following three nominees: Rachel Park Hurt, a partner with Arnett Baker Draper & Hagood in Knoxville and president of the Knoxville Bar Association; 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court Judge William Erwin Phillips II in Rogersville; and 12th Judicial District Chancellor Melissa Thomas Willis in Jasper. Learn more about the nominees in the applications they submitted for consideration.