{"county":"shelby","description":"","district":"shelby","districtgroup":"county","id":79,"key":"general_sessions_civil_court_judge_div_2","lastchangeby":null,"name":"Phyllis B. Gardner ","next_election":"2022-11-08","notes":"89","officegroup":"general_sessions_civil_court","partisan":0,"party":"","qualities":"- General-Sessions civil-court judge: hears civil claims under the statutory cap (currently $25,000), landlord-tenant cases, and small claims \u2014 high volume, often pro se litigants.\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":"2030-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01","term_years":8,"terms":[{"current":1,"description":"","electiondate":"2022-08-04","name":"Phyllis B. Gardner ","person":{"biography":"Phyllis B. Gardner has served as a judge in Division 2 of the Shelby County General Sessions Court in Tennessee since assuming office in 2002. Her current term, which began in 2002, will conclude on September 1, 2030. Recently, she ran for re-election as the Division 2 judge for the same court and emerged victorious in the general election.","firstname":"Phyllis","lastname":"Gardner","middlename":"B.","token":"0aOJBT5D8t"},"term_end":"2030-09-01","term_start":"2022-09-01"}],"title":"General Sessions Civil Court Judge Div 2","type":"judicial","url":null,"whenchanged":"2026-04-25 19:49:19"}