{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nCrystal Jessee is a Greeneville attorney running as an Independent for the Circuit Court Part II seat in Tennessee's Third Judicial District \u2014 which covers Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins counties \u2014 on the August 6, 2026 ballot [1][2]. The seat was vacated in early 2026 when Judge William E. Phillips II was elevated to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and the winner will fill the unexpired term [2]. Jessee previously sought the same seat in the May 2022 primary and lost [3]. Her platform emphasizes expanding the district's drug-court program to include a veterans' treatment court; she has said, \"We must be tough on crime while also being smart about solutions\" [1].\n\n## Background and education\nJessee is a native of Hawkins County who has spent much of her life split between Greene and Hawkins counties [1]. She returned to her family's farm in Bulls Gap after her father's death in 2022 and lives in Greeneville with her daughter, Kaitlyn [1]. She earned her law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and has been licensed to practice in Tennessee since 2005 [4].\n\n## Career\nJessee operates the Jessee Law Office in Greeneville, is licensed in all Tennessee courts and the U.S. Supreme Court, and serves as a family-law mediator listed with the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts [1][5]. She has previously served as a Child Support Magistrate for the Third Judicial District [3]. Jessee represents multiple upper East Tennessee counties in opioid and insulin settlement litigation intended to direct settlement funds back into impacted communities [1]. She is a member of the Greene County Republican Women's Club, the Greene County Andrew Johnson Women's Club and Greeneville Eastern Star, and attends Pleasant Hill Methodist Church [1].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nThe Tennessee Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility has publicly censured Jessee twice. In October 2014, the Court censured her (under her then-name Crystal Michelle Goan) over conduct related to her divorce from James Roy Klumb; a federal court had found that she violated the federal Wiretap Act and the Tennessee Wiretap Act by installing spyware on the computers of Klumb's employers to intercept his incoming email, and had awarded him $10,000 in statutory damages plus $10,000 in punitive damages [6]. In April 2023, the Board issued a second public censure, finding that in a motion seeking recusal of Greene County General Sessions Judge Kenneth Bailey Jr. she had \"made a frivolous statement concerning the judge's representation of his current wife in a prior divorce proceeding without making reasonable inquiry regarding the truth of this assertion\" and had \"made a reckless statement that the judge had endorsed her opponent in an election,\" violating Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 (diligence), 3.1 (meritorious claims) and 8.2 (statements about judicial officials) [7]. Jessee told the Rogersville Review she was \"simply doing what was in my client's best interest\" and noted that a public censure does not affect an attorney's ability to practice law [7].\n\nSeparately, in July 2023 Jessee was named a defendant in a civil complaint filed in Greene County Circuit Court by Avery L. Cawood, alleging fraudulent conversion of funds from a trust account of the law firm of her late husband, Thomas C. Jessee [8]. The complaint alleges Cawood, described as a longtime friend of Thomas Jessee, provided a $100,000 short-term real-estate investment loan to be held in the Jessee & Jessee trust account in May 2021, and seeks compensatory damages exceeding $307,500 and punitive damages in excess of $1.22 million [8]. A jury trial has been requested; no court date had been set at the time of reporting [8].\n\n## Family\nJessee's father died in 2022, prompting her return to the family farm in Bulls Gap [1]. She lives in Greeneville with her daughter, Kaitlyn [1]. Her late husband Thomas C. Jessee, an attorney in Greeneville's Jessee & Jessee firm, died on July 27, 2021 [8].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Jessee announces candidacy for Third Judicial Circuit Court \u2014 Rogersville Review](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_bf57e8ab-b905-4941-a0d0-9b5f0986bd87.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[2] [Stapleton appointed Circuit Court Judge for 4 counties, including Greene \u2014 Greeneville Sun](https://www.greenevillesun.com/news/local_news/stapleton-appointed-circuit-court-judge-for-4-counties-including-greene/article_9809c4b8-174a-4928-b226-875e4c584e2c.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[3] [Jessee cites lessons learned in 20-year legal career in Circuit Court Judge race \u2014 Citizen Tribune](https://www.citizentribune.com/news/local/jessee-cites-lessons-learned-in-20-year-legal-career-in-circuit-court-judge-race/article_4db300bc-baa3-11ec-a1db-0f8eb74d5e65.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[4] [Attorney Details for Jessee, Crystal Goan \u2014 TN Board of Professional Responsibility](https://www.tbpr.org/attorneys/024445) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[5] [Crystal G. Jessee \u2014 TN Administrative Office of the Courts mediator directory](https://www.tncourts.gov/programs/mediation/find-mediator/crystal-g-jessee) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[6] [State Supreme Court Censures Attorney Goan \u2014 Greeneville Sun](https://www.greenevillesun.com/xml/nitf/article_52e7900f-d943-55cc-a63d-31c9fa5cf584.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[7] [Attorney Crystal Jessee censured over attempts to get judge to recuse himself \u2014 Rogersville Review](https://www.therogersvillereview.com/news/article_0489eb94-e487-11ed-89a3-7b5ff9ff1905.html) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18\n[8] [Civil lawsuit claims Greeneville attorney mishandled funds \u2014 Kingsport Times News](https://timesnews.net/news/37886/civil-lawsuit-claims-greeneville-attorney-mishandled-funds/) \u2014 accessed 2026-07-18","campaigns":[{"contest":"circuit_court_judge_part_2_district_3_unexpired","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"Circuit Court Judge Part Ii District 3"},{"contest":"circuit_court_part_2_district_3_unexpired","county":"Hamblen","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"TN","title":"Circuit Court Judge Part Ii District 3"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"CRYSTAL","fullname":"CRYSTAL JESSEE","lastname":"JESSEE","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"circuit_court_judge_part_2_district_3_unexpired","contest_title":"Circuit Court Judge Part Ii District 3","county":"Hawkins","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"circuit_court_part_2_district_3","office_title":"Circuit Court Judge, Part II, 3rd Judicial District","party":"I","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},{"contest":"circuit_court_part_2_district_3_unexpired","contest_title":"Circuit Court Judge Part Ii District 3","county":"Hamblen","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"circuit_court_part_2_district_3","office_title":"Circuit Court Judge, Part II, 3rd Judicial District","party":"I","pgr":"general","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"circuit_court_part_2_district_3_unexpired","contest_title":"Circuit Court Judge Part Ii District 3","county":"Hamblen","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"circuit_court_part_2_district_3","office_title":"Circuit Court Judge, Part II, 3rd Judicial District","party":"I","pgr":"general","state":"TN"},"party":"I","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"circuit_court_part_2_district_3","office_title":"Circuit Court Judge, Part II, 3rd Judicial District","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"summary":"Greeneville attorney with 20+ years' practice running as an Independent for 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court Judge; twice publicly censured by the TN Supreme Court's disciplinary board.","terms":[],"token":"s1uHpusdnO"}