{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"JODIE ANN BELL","chatgptsummary":"Jodie Ann Bell's thirty-year litigation career as a defense attorney and current service on the Davidson County bench demonstrate relevant experience in criminal law and courtroom procedure for General Sessions Court. Her election by the Metro Council and primary victory confirm voter selection without documented controversy or disciplinary records. Bio does not indicate prior civil mediation experience or specific landlord-tenant adjudication experience.","notes":null,"party":"D","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJodie Ann Bell is the incumbent Davidson County General Sessions Court judge for Division VI, seeking a full term in the 2026 election. The Metro Nashville Council elected Bell, a longtime Nashville defense attorney, to fill a vacant seat on the court in November 2025, choosing her over four other candidates, including attorney Michael Robinson [1]. Bell was re-elected in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary, defeating Michael Johnson; no Republican candidate qualified for the seat, so the primary result determines the office [2].\n\n## Background and education\nBell graduated with her law degree from Golden Gate University in 1994 and has practiced law in Tennessee since 1997 [1].\n\n## Career\nBefore taking the bench, Bell spent nearly 30 years in litigation as a Nashville defense attorney. She is a member of the Nashville Bar Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Lawyer's Association for Women. She has also served as a board member for Reconciliation Prison Ministries and the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers [1].\n\n## Family\nBell is married to former Nashville Mayor David Briley, who currently serves as a Davidson County Circuit Court judge [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] Julianne Akers, \"Metro Council selects Jodie Bell as General Sessions Court judge,\" Nashville Post, Nov. 19, 2025. https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/legal/metro-council-selects-jodie-bell-as-general-sessions-court-judge/article_96d85adf-ebe9-407f-809b-14288a6389ab.html\n[2] \"Here are the winners for Nashville clerk, school board and judge roles,\" WPLN News, May 5, 2026. https://wpln.org/post/here-are-the-winners-for-nashville-clerk-school-board-and-judge-roles/","firstname":"JODIE","lastname":"BELL","middlename":"ANN","suffix":null,"token":"Xhtd7YLl4L"},"token":"jodie_ann_bell"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"general_sessions_judge","o.office":null,"office":"general_sessions_judge","officedescription":"A general-sessions judge presides over a high-volume lower court \u2014 misdemeanors, preliminary felony hearings, small civil claims, and landlord-tenant matters. Many litigants appear without lawyers.","officequalities":"- Judge of a high-volume general-sessions court \u2014 misdemeanors, preliminary felony hearings, small civil claims, and landlord-tenant matters, often with unrepresented parties.\n- Judicial temperament: the willingness to listen, deliberate, and apply the law dispassionately to people whose lives are deeply affected by the outcome.\n- Impartiality and ethics under the Tennessee Rules of Judicial Conduct, including disqualification when conflicts arise.\n- Working knowledge of the substantive and procedural law applied in the court and the precedent that controls.\n- Efficient management of a heavy docket while honoring due process.\n- Accessibility and clarity for the many who appear without counsel.","officeterm":8,"officetitle":"General Sessions Judge","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-22","title":"Davidson County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.nashville.gov/sites/default/files/2026-06/Sample_Ballot_August_6_2026_State_Fed_Prim_Cty_Gen_Oak_Hill.pdf"},"title":"General Sessions Judge Division Vi"}