So You’re a New Judge. Now What?

So, you won the county election and you’ve taken the Oath of Office. Congratulations: You’re a judge! Now what?

If you’re a new judge, you probably have a lot of questions that go beyond the procedural and substantive law you will be asked to apply every day in court.

For example, what is your new salary? Good luck finding that in the statutes. You have to start with Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-23-103(1)(B)(i), which set the base salary back in 2006. But then § 8-12-103(2) says to adjust that salary each year based on a formula from another statute. And that statute says to look at the change in the average consumer price index.1 Seems like a lot of work just to know how much you’ll be paid.

Or maybe you are curious about how to staff your new office. How many law clerks and administrative personnel can you employ? Well, that will depend on your judicial district. The State pays for one secretary for each elected trial judge.2 Any staff beyond that has to be provided by the local government.

Your local county trial court administrator can probably fill you in on more details about the specific resources available in your county. As judge, you can decide whether you want to use that funding to hire legal clerks or additional administrative assistants—but how many staff you can hire (and their pay) will be decided by the local government. And if your county does not provide funding for additional staff, you will be limited to just the one State-funded secretary.3

But how would you, the newly elected judge, know where to look for these answers? Well, first you would do what I did—talk with another sitting judge.

The experience and wisdom of other judges will be one of your best resources as you learn the art of being a judge. As Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Smith told me, there is “very little formal training” for new judges. Rather, you “learn by doing,” and “by asking experienced judges.” (For example, Judge Smith was quick to say how much help she received from Judge Cheryl Blackburn.)

Outside of your immediate colleagues, you might also look for instruction and training in the state judicial conference. The judicial conference is comprised of “all judges of courts of records,” including retired judges, as well as all “active and retired judges” of the probate courts in the larger counties.4

Among its other obligations, the judicial conference provides a training for all newly elected judges (sometimes referred to as “baby judge school”). This training lasts about a week and is held in August of each election year, after the elections have concluded but before the new judges take office. Unfortunately, this training is only conducted every eight

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