{"county":null,"description":"","district":"30","districtgroup":"tn_judicial_district","id":55,"key":"criminal_court_div_5_district_30","lastchangeby":null,"name":null,"next_election":"2022-11-08","notes":"65","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":"Carlyn Addison","person":{"biography":"## Current office\n\nCarlyn L. Addison serves as the presiding judge of Shelby County Criminal Court Division 5, which specializes in Intimate Partner Violence cases [1][2]. She was elected on August 4, 2022, and her term runs through September 1, 2030 [1][2]. Her chambers are located at 201 Poplar Avenue in Memphis [2].\n\n## Background and education\n\nAddison grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and Memphis, Tennessee [3]. She earned her undergraduate degree from Xavier University of Louisiana, majoring in English and minoring in Theology [3]. She received her Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana [3].\n\n## Career\n\nAddison began her legal career as an Assistant Shelby County Public Defender, handling cases in General Sessions and Criminal Court for seven years [3]. Judge Larry Potter subsequently appointed her as Staff Attorney and Environmental Court Referee \u2014 a historic appointment, as she became the first African-American to serve as Referee in Environmental Court [3]. Beginning in 2015, she served as a Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court Magistrate Judge, presiding over cases involving delinquency, truancy, foster care, child abuse, and coparenting matters [3][4]. She was elected to Criminal Court Division 5 in the August 2022 general election [1][2].\n\n## Community involvement\n\nAddison is a member of Pentecostal Temple Church of God in Christ and serves on the Joshua Learning Tree Parent Board [3]. She supports the Herb Kosten Foundation, dedicated to pancreatic cancer awareness [3]. She holds certification in recognizing and addressing domestic child sex trafficking [3]. Addison is a member of the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Memphis Bar Association, and the National Association of Women Judges [3]. She received the 2019 Truancy Champion Award from the International Association of Truancy and Dropout Prevention [3].\n\n## Sources\n\n- [1] [Carlyn L. Addison \u2013 Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts](https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/juvenile-family-courts/judges/carlyn-l-addison)\n- [2] [Division V \u2013 Criminal Court Clerk](https://www.criminalcourtclerkkuhn.com/division5)\n- [3] [Meet Magistrate Carlyn Addison \u2013 Memphis Urban League](https://memul.org/magistrate-carlyn-addison/)\n- [4] [The ultimate guide to the judicial races on the August ballot \u2013 Daily Memphian](https://dailymemphian.com/article/29800/memphis-area-judicial-races-on-august-ballot)","firstname":"Carlyn","lastname":"Addison","token":"SR5bEn0zvx"},"term_end":"2030-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"}],"title":"Criminal Court Div 5","type":"judicial","url":null,"whenchanged":"2026-07-19 20:57:16"}