{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJoseph Scott Ozment is a candidate for Shelby County Criminal Court Judge, Division VIII (30th Judicial District), in the nonpartisan unexpired-term election on August 6, 2026 [1]. The seat is open because longtime Division VIII judge Chris Craft, who has served since 1994, is retiring; a Daily Memphian report counted eight candidates certified for the race [2].\n\n## Career\nOzment has practiced law in Memphis for more than 30 years, since earning his J.D. from the University of Memphis's Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1992 [3]. His practice focuses on criminal defense, family law, and bankruptcy [1]. He is Rule 13-qualified under the Tennessee Supreme Court's rules to represent defendants in capital cases and has tried cases in state and federal court, with appeals before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals [1][3]. He is a past president of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Memphis Bar Association's Criminal Law Section, and the Shelby County Drug Court Foundation [1]. In 1996 he received the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' Robert W. Richie Award, and in 2013 the organization's Work Horse Award [3].\n\n## Office history\nThis is not Ozment's first campaign for the Criminal Court bench. He ran for Division II in the August 4, 2022 general election and was defeated by Jennifer Fitzgerald in a five-candidate field [4]. He also filed for a special election for Division IX in 2024, but that election was cancelled after the legislature eliminated the position before the vote [5].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Joe Ozment for Judge](https://ozmentforjudge.com/) (campaign site) - accessed 2026-07-06\n[2] [Eight candidates certified for Criminal Court judicial race](https://dailymemphian.com/article/63975) - Daily Memphian\n[3] [Joseph S. Ozment](https://josephozmentlaw.com/about-joseph-s-ozment/) - Law Office of Joseph S. Ozment, PLLC\n[4] [The ultimate guide to the judicial races on the August ballot](https://dailymemphian.com/article/29800/memphis-area-judicial-races-on-august-ballot) - Daily Memphian, 2022 cycle\n[5] Four candidates apply for former Judge Melissa Boyd's seat - Daily Memphian (paywalled; election-cancellation fact reflects secondary reporting as of 2026-07-06)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"criminal_court_judge_division_8_unexpired","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"Criminal Court Judge Division 8 (unexpired)"},{"contest":"criminal_court_div_9","county":"shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":null,"state":"TN","title":null}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Joe","fullname":"Joe Ozment","lastname":"Ozment","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"criminal_court_judge_division_8_unexpired","contest_title":"Criminal Court Judge Division 8 (unexpired)","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"Shelby","office_key":"criminal_court_div_8","office_title":"Criminal Court Div 8","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":"shelby","cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"criminal_court_judge_division_8_unexpired","contest_title":"Criminal Court Judge Division 8 (unexpired)","county":"Shelby","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":"Shelby","office_key":"criminal_court_div_8","office_title":"Criminal Court Div 8","party":"","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"criminal_court_div_8","office_title":"Criminal Court Div 8","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Memphis criminal-defense attorney (J.D. 1992) running for Shelby County Criminal Court Judge, Division VIII, in the August 6, 2026 nonpartisan election, succeeding retiring Judge Chris Craft.","terms":[],"token":"PIbkVOA2lS"}