{"county":null,"description":"","district":"30","districtgroup":"tn_judicial_district","id":54,"key":"criminal_court_div_4_district_30","lastchangeby":null,"name":null,"next_election":"2022-11-08","notes":"64","officegroup":"criminal_court","partisan":0,"party":"","qualities":"- Trial-court judge in Tennessee criminal court: presides over felony cases \u2014 indictments, pretrial motions, jury trials, sentencing under TCA Title 40.\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 assigned court (cited per court below) and the published precedent that controls.\n- Docket management \u2014 moving cases efficiently while honoring due process and the time pressures that fall on litigants and witnesses.\n- Clear written and oral explanation of rulings, so the parties and the public can follow the reasoning.","quantity":1,"source":null,"state":"TN","term_end":null,"term_start":null,"term_years":8,"terms":[{"current":1,"description":"","electiondate":"2022-08-06","name":"Carolyn Blackett ","person":{"biography":"Criminal Court Judge\nYear Elected/Appointed\n1994\nPrevious Employment\nAttorney, Waring Cox Law Firm, 1992-94\nSenior Attorney/Regional Manager of Government Affairs, Federal Express Corporation, 1983-1992\nAttorney, National Labor Relations Board, 1983\nLegal Intern, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, 1981-82\nLaw Clerk, Phill\n\nEducation\nSt. Louis University Law School, 1982\nBrown University, 1979\nHonors\nTennessee Court of Judiciary - Appointed by Tennessee Supreme Court, 1995-99\nTennessee Judicial Council - Appointed by Tennessee Supreme Court, 2006\nTennessee Judicial Conference, Chairperson of Judicial Fairness Committee, Member of Criminal Jury Instructions Committee, Member of Literacy in the Courts Committee, Member of Continuing Legal Education Committee, Treasurer of Tennessee Judicial Conference, 1996-97, Executive Board Member, 1997-98\n\nMembership(s)\nAmerican Bar Association\nNational Bar Association (Life Member)\nNational Bar Association - Judicial Council\nAssociation of Women Attorneys\nMemphis/Shelby County Bar Association\nAmerican Association of Judges\nNational Association of Women's Judges\nTennessee Bar Foundation\nTennessee Judicial Conference\nNational Bar Association - Ben F. Jones Chapter\n\nCommunity Involvement\nMemphis/Shelby County Crime Commission Board Member, 1995-2010\nPorter Leath Foster Grandparent Program, Advisory Board Member\nMake-A-Wish Foundation of Mid-South, Board Member\nLausanne Collegiate Schools-Board of Trustees\nBoys and Girls Club of Memphis, Board of Directors\nDomestic Violence Council - Board of Directors\nHarbor House - Board Member\nMemphis Crime Task Force-Appointed by Mayor\nExchange Club Child Abuse - Advisory Board Member\nRotary International\nNeighborhood Watch, Inc.\nTennessee Valley Authority\nMemphis Urban league\nMemphis Chamber of Commerce\nMemphis Area Transit Authority- Board of Commissions\nYWCA\nWDIA Goodwill Revue Foundation, Inc.\nLeadership Memphis\nTennessee State Park Commission\nDelta Sigma Theta Sorority\nMemphis Links (It's a Girl's Life Program)","firstname":"Carolyn","lastname":"Blackett","token":"805BUe2rSY"},"term_end":"2030-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"}],"title":"Criminal Court Div 4","type":"judicial","url":null,"whenchanged":"2026-07-19 20:57:16"}