{"county":"shelby","description":"","district":"Germantown","districtgroup":"municipality","id":160,"key":"germantown_municipal_judge_division_1","lastchangeby":null,"name":"Rhea Clift","next_election":"2022-11-08","notes":"170","officegroup":null,"partisan":0,"party":"","qualities":"- Municipal-court judge: hears violations of city ordinances (traffic, code, animal-control, etc.) and, in some Tennessee cities, limited civil and small-claims jurisdiction by charter or interlocal agreement.\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":"2032-09-01","term_start":"2024-09-01","term_years":8,"terms":[{"current":0,"description":"","electiondate":"2022-08-06","name":"Raymond Clift","person":{"biography":"Municipal Court Judge w/ General Sessions Jurisdiction\nYear Elected/Appointed\n2006\nPrior Judicial Experience\nGermantown Municipal Court Judge, since April 1982\n\nPrevious Employment\nPrivate Law Practice, 1972-present\n\nAssistant Attorney General, 1970-1972\n\nAssistant Public Defender, 1969-1970\n\nEducation\nUniversity of Memphis, 1969\nUniversity of Mississippi, 1963\nMembership(s)\nTennessee Municipal Judges Conference","firstname":"Raymond","lastname":"Clift","token":"7vtU4DdYfJ"},"term_end":"2024-08-31","term_start":"2022-09-01"},{"current":1,"description":null,"electiondate":"2024-08-01","name":"Rhea Clift","person":{"biography":"Rhea is a career prosecutor. She cut her teeth in the Shelby County District Attorney\u2019s office right out of law school in 1991. As an Assistant District Attorney, Rhea was part of 49 jury trials. She accepted a position as Assistant City of Bartlett Prosecutor in 2000 and became Chief Prosecutor for Bartlett in 2020. Rhea also serves as a Prosecutor for the City of Millington.\n\nRhea is active in local Republican politics. She is a member of the East Shelby Republican Club, Republican Women of Purpose, and the Shelby County Republican Women\u2019s Club where she served as President in 2021 and 2022.\n\nRhea earned her bachelor\u2019s degree from Vanderbilt and her law degree from the University of Memphis. She is a very active member of St. George\u2019s Episcopal Church where she\u2019s attended services since 1975.\n\nRhea\u2019s father, the Honorable Raymond S. Clift, Jr., served as a Germantown Municipal Judge for 40 years until his resignation due to health reasons in 2020. She\u2019s running for judge to use over 30 years\u2019 experience as a local prosecutor to keep Germantown families safe. Rhea plans to continue her father\u2019s tradition of service to Germantown.\n\nRhea is fair. She listens to both sides. In her role as a prosecutor, Rhea consults with the victims of crime to ensure their voices are heard. She has the experience and wisdom Germantown needs on the bench.  \n\nLinks:\n\nCampaign Site: [https://cliftforjudge.com/](https://cliftforjudge.com/)\n\nLinkedin Site: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhea-clift-8872885/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhea-clift-8872885/)","firstname":"Rhea","lastname":"Clift","token":"URI9RIxBUa"},"term_end":"2032-09-01","term_start":"2024-09-01"}],"title":"Germantown Municipal Judge Division 1","type":"judicial","url":null,"whenchanged":"2026-04-25 19:49:19"}