← Back to Davidson County, Tennessee: Election on 2026-08-06
Contest for Criminal Court Clerk
County
general - Partisan - Criminal Court Clerk
About this office
The criminal court clerk keeps the records of the criminal court — case files, judgments, bond paperwork, and jury orders — and collects court costs and fines under the court's deadlines.
Term length: 4 years.
This role calls for
- Maintains records of the Criminal Court (felony trial court). Manages the criminal docket, bond paperwork, and jury orders for criminal trials.
- Records management for the court served by this clerk's office, in conformity with Tennessee Rules of Civil/Criminal Procedure and the orders of the assigned judges.
- Working knowledge of the relevant court's docket, fee schedule, and pleading requirements.
- Financial controls for collecting and disbursing court costs, fines, restitution, bonds, and trust funds — with public accountability.
- Supervision of a clerical staff handling high case volume and frequent statutory deadlines.
- Administrative reliability — the office's filings are legally binding and its records are evidence.
Derived from the office's statutory duties and operational reality. Candidate summaries below map each candidate's documented experience to these requirements.
Campaigns
Howard Gentry's biography shows over a decade of direct experience managing criminal court records, dockets, and financial controls as Davidson County's incumbent Criminal Court Clerk. He has supervised staff, implemented record access improvements, and overseen fine collection. The biography documents no controversies or disciplinary records. Bio does not indicate prior experience in felony trial administration or bond management outside the current role.
Know something about this race we don't?
Submit a contribution →