Ep. 41 Judicial Retention 101

With election season in full swing, Tennessee voters had the chance to vote on the retention of an appellate court judge and a Supreme Court Justice in August 2024. Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Matthew Wilson was one of those judges. In this episode of Tennessee Court Talk, Nick Morgan sits down with Judge Wilson in Jackson, TN to discuss the purpose of retention elections, why they are so different and three words his best friend would use to describe him. This episode is for all audiences. 

Produced and Edited by Nick Morgan, Administrative Office of the Courts

Transcript

00;00;00;10 - 00;00;20;18
Host
One of the cornerstones of Tennessee Court Talk is to educate our listeners about the court system. On today's episode, we are going to do just that and discuss retention elections in Tennessee. Recently and August of 2024, Tennessee voters were asked to vote on judges with a simple yes or no vote. Many voters may have been confused by seeing a yes or no on a ballot and have questions.

00;00;20;18 - 00;00;36;27
Host
For example, who are these judges? How do they get on a ballot and what quarter we voting on? I'm your host, Nick Morgan, Digital Media Lead for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. And on this episode, we are sitting down with a judge who recently went through a retention election successfully, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Matthew Wilson.

00;00;36;28 - 00;00;47;02
Host
Judge Wilson was appointed to the Appellate Court bench in 2023, after serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District. Judge Wilson, welcome to Tennessee Court.

00;00;47;09 - 00;00;48;23
Judge Wilson
Thank you. Nick, it's great to be here.

00;00;48;24 - 00;01;00;10
Host
Tennessee is one of 20 states that use retention elections. So I want to start with the basics for our listeners. As someone who didn't grow up in one of those 20 states, what is a retention election and why am I being asked to vote on judges?

00;01;00;11 - 00;01;32;06
Judge Wilson
Well, the Tennessee Constitution provides that judges shall be elected and specifically, judges or we call them justices of the Supreme Court. The system was set up in place where, since 2014, it was first implemented in 2006. The Governor's office employs what's called the Governor's Council for Judicial Appointments. It's a panel made up of approximately 11 to 13 individuals from across the state.

00;01;32;08 - 00;02;03;04
Judge Wilson
They make recommendations to the Governor based on merit and, their selection and send typically three names to the Governor's office. In my situation, Governor Lee received my name with two other individuals. Governor Lee selected me as, his his pick for selection. And I was at that point appointed by the Governor. At that point, my name went before the Tennessee General Assembly.

00;02;03;06 - 00;02;34;07
Judge Wilson
Pursuant to now the Tennessee Constitution, as amended eight years ago, my name has to be, voted on by the members of the Tennessee General Assembly. And a majority Assembly members picked me and voted in favor of my, judgeship. At that point, every approximately eight years, the name of the Appellate Judge, is put before the Tennessee voters pursuant to the Tennessee Constitution.

00;02;34;09 - 00;02;39;08
Judge Wilson
And they, either vote to retain or replace said Judge.

00;02;39;13 - 00;02;42;27
Host
And what judges are subject to retention elections, like what types of judges?

00;02;42;27 - 00;02;59;03
Judge Wilson
It's the Appellate Courts, and up, if that makes sense. So that would be the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals member of the court. I'm on. And then, the Tennessee Court of Appeals, as well as the five Tennessee Supreme Court Justices.

00;02;59;10 - 00;03;05;12
Host
So how does voting yes or no for an Appellate Court judge differ from voting for a trial court judge, per se?

00;03;05;18 - 00;03;31;06
Judge Wilson
Oftentimes, more often than not, Circuit Court Trial Court level judges, as well as General Sessions judges and Chancellors will have, opponents. And that is somebody running in a political campaign against them. And the voters choose between two or more names. Oftentimes, there's more than two in some of the larger counties, in my situation.

00;03;31;06 - 00;03;55;02
Judge Wilson
And a retention election is just a simple yes or no. And Lord forbid if, if I were, selected not to be retained by the voters, then the process that I described earlier would start all over again, and the Governor would nominate a new potential judge. The General Assembly would, confirm that judge, and then they would serve.

00;03;55;04 - 00;03;57;11
Host
What exactly is the job of an Appellate judge?

00;03;57;11 - 00;04;31;17
Judge Wilson
An Appellate judge, at least in my level of, of court, the Court of Criminal appeals, we are an error correcting court. That is, we review what happens at the trial level and see if the process that took place was actually legal, if it violated any constitutional provisions or statutory, provisions from our laws. If the process was followed and, and, somebody had a fair process below, we do not hear evidence.

00;04;31;17 - 00;04;57;17
Judge Wilson
We do not have live witnesses the vast majority of the time, the individual where we're, deciding their case, they're not even present. Similarly for the, Court of Appeals, which handles the civil cases, they're reviewing the processes that took place at the civil trial level, and they're reviewing it for error. And then the Supreme Court, has a slightly different approach.

00;04;57;17 - 00;05;12;12
Judge Wilson
And but, they would review what my court does in the Court of Appeals. And they also have, this specific duty to, interpret and, set the Tennessee as was United States Constitution.

00;05;12;15 - 00;05;26;15
Host
You mentioned earlier that Appellate Court judges are retained for eight years. But I want to ask about your situation a little bit more specifically. You were appointed in 2023, but you were already up for retention in 2024. Can you explain why.

00;05;26;19 - 00;05;58;23
Judge Wilson
While I am very grateful to be here, my circumstances, being placed on the court are a little bit sad. Judge John Everett Williams, a long serving, Presiding Judge at the Court of Criminal Appeals, unfortunately passed away just a few days into his term in 2022. He was just, along with the other judges on my court, overwhelmingly elected and retained by the voters, and passed away on Labor Day weekend of 2022.

00;05;58;24 - 00;06;27;19
Judge Wilson
The process is that because he had just begun a full eight year term when my name was advanced and I was confirmed by the General Assembly, I was to serve out the remainder of his term. But also the process, requires that on the next immediate statewide ballot, and that would be in 2024. My name would go before the voters to either retain or replace.

00;06;27;21 - 00;06;44;22
Judge Wilson
Similarly, Justice Dwight Tar Water went through the process with me at the General Assembly and began his term on September 1st to 2023. And he had even a shorter time before he went before the voters in August of this year.

00;06;44;25 - 00;06;53;23
Host
You know, during an election cycle, citizens often see signs posted in yards and billboards campaigning for your vote. Why do we not see that with a retention vote?

00;06;53;25 - 00;07;32;14
Judge Wilson
Well, I'm sure you could. In 2014, there was actually an organized campaign, to, to replace three sitting Supreme Court justices where, political organizations were formed, to seek that they be removed from the bench. That hasn't happened since, I imagine if we saw that take place again, if there were, an organized campaign against the Appellate Judges, perhaps you would see signs and campaigning and,

00;07;32;16 - 00;08;09;11
Judge Wilson
Advertisement. But, at this point, I would like to think that, as the voters consider us, that is the Appellate Court judges for retention, that they would look at the merits of our work. Our opinions are published on the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts website. Is for the world to see. I would I would like to believe that voters would look at our track record by reviewing our opinion, seeing whether they agree with them, if we've done our job and done it well, and make their decisions based on that.

00;08;09;11 - 00;08;20;19
Host
Since you were just recently on the ballot for retention in August, what was the feeling like going into a statewide election where, you know, you weren't campaigning and people may not know you or even your profession?

00;08;20;19 - 00;08;46;03
Judge Wilson
Well, it was a little nerve wracking because I've never been a, politician before. And I guess by virtue of my name being on the recent ballot, I'm now a politician in the sense that I'm politically retained. And it was, the uncertainty of it. But, I'm grateful that 395,000 of my closest friends across Tennessee saw fit to keep me in office.

00;08;46;06 - 00;09;12;28
Judge Wilson
I tried to I tried to spread the word locally and, from the county where I was, raised near Nashville. And, I'm sure the word got out through through, their associations with me knowing me and knowing my relatives. But basically, you're right that nobody in East Tennessee likely has ever heard my name unless they do their independent research and see the body of my work.

00;09;13;01 - 00;09;17;03
Host
In order to win a retention vote, what percentage do you have to have?

00;09;17;07 - 00;09;32;08
Judge Wilson
50% plus one? And that one is, very important. And luckily, I had a higher margin than that. And so did Justice Tarwater, I believe, we were both in the 70 over 70%. So we're very thankful for that.

00;09;32;08 - 00;09;44;21
Host
Speaking of you, more specifically, you came to the Appellate bench after being an assistant United States Attorney General, not a trial judge or in local practice. Can you explain that job and what types of cases you were arguing? Sure.

00;09;44;24 - 00;10;13;23
Judge Wilson
An Assistant United States attorney is a Federal prosecutor, so we are tasked with, enforcing and prosecuting federal laws, which are just like state laws and that, it's just a different courthouse. The the, types of cases that are handled. I started out just with a general caseload and also handled forfeiture matters, which are civil and, criminal in nature, but, but types of cases.

00;10;13;25 - 00;10;49;13
Judge Wilson
And then, began, prosecuting drug cases, which, unfortunately, in our society, drugs are a major problem and, and very prevalent. So I prosecuted drug cases for several years for about the last eight, nine years. My practice with the United States Attorney's Office here in Jackson, I prosecuted the white collar crimes. That is, bank fraud, health care fraud, different crimes that, that involve money.

00;10;49;16 - 00;11;23;07
Judge Wilson
Basically, that's the best way to describe, white collar prosecution. I also had a substantial appellate practice. And that is where the United States Attorney's Office differs from our state system. And I'm very grateful for that. The United States Attorney's Office, we do prosecute the cases at the trial level. Go before a judge and a jury. And if that person is convicted of a crime, then the next job is to take that case and defend it.

00;11;23;07 - 00;11;52;26
Judge Wilson
So you're prosecuting the low and you're defending the conviction, past that, because we defend it at the Federal Court of Appeals here in Tennessee, that is the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sit sits in Cincinnati, Ohio, and encompasses several states, including Tennessee. So I had a substantial appellate practice, through my job, had more than 70 matters that went before the, six Circuit Court of Appeals.

00;11;52;26 - 00;12;11;00
Judge Wilson
And through that appellate work, it really grew this love, for what I'm doing now. So I had the benefit of doing the trial work and appellate work at the same time, and luckily was able to to, gain substantial experience through that.

00;12;11;00 - 00;12;19;20
Host
You mentioned growing up outside of Nashville. Can you just explain your background a little bit? How do you get a job as a assistant United States Attorney General?

00;12;19;22 - 00;12;52;27
Judge Wilson
Okay, well, I had a little round about, circuitous route. But I wanted to get a little bit far away, for college, after growing up near Nashville. And I went to local high school there, called Montgomery Bell Academy. I decided to go to Auburn University for college. And when I went to Auburn, I met my wife, who's from Florida, and went to law school in Florida at Florida State University with the intention of coming home.

00;12;52;27 - 00;13;33;18
Judge Wilson
Eventually. When you go to school in a certain state, your, your, first job is normally local because that's where the connections are. So I worked for a short time in Florida as a State Prosecutor. And in 2008, I had the opportunity because I had, thought I was good at my job. And apparently the people who hired me thought I was, too, because I was selected as the United States assistant United States attorney, a federal prosecutor, and, made my way back to Jackson for where I've been about the last 15 years.

00;13;33;21 - 00;13;44;00
Host
I want to switch gears a little bit, as a way for our listeners who just saw your name on the ballot. Actually, I have five lightning round questions for you. You ready? Sure. What is a recent, memorable meal?

00;13;44;00 - 00;14;02;13
Judge Wilson
Well, what? Red blooded American doesn't love a steak? So I am a, strip steak guy normally, so I would say a strip steak. Medium rare, with a substantial side salad, ranch dressing. And, who doesn't love a loaded baked potato?

00;14;02;15 - 00;14;06;13
Host
Oh, absolutely. What picture is currently on your phone's home screen?

00;14;06;18 - 00;14;21;24
Judge Wilson
My family. I love my family. I've been married to my wife 21 years, and God has blessed me with three. I would call them beautiful, but they're handsome young men. My sons as well as we have a, another, young man that we cared.

00;14;21;24 - 00;14;24;24
Host
For, what, three words would your best friend use to describe you?

00;14;24;24 - 00;14;43;13
Judge Wilson
Well, a friend of mine. A friend of mine, describe me as very serious. I like to think I have a sense of humor, but I guess it doesn't always portray that way. But I would say serious, loyal, and, And certainly funny.

00;14;43;15 - 00;14;47;13
Host
What is one hobby that you do to relax outside of work?

00;14;47;15 - 00;15;08;10
Judge Wilson
Having three sons? We are very involved in the outdoors. I love being outside in God's creation. I love to hunt. I love to fish. We're in a great state for that, where there's lots of opportunities. It's not really about catching any fish or, harvesting any animals. It's just being out in, in the outdoors.

00;15;08;10 - 00;15;13;22
Judge Wilson
So that is my relaxation time. And we're not people closest to my creator.

00;15;13;25 - 00;15;21;26
Host
Appellate judges travel all over the state here in cases. It's just you in the car after a long day in court. What artist or music genre are you writing home to?

00;15;21;28 - 00;15;50;24
Judge Wilson
I'm big into podcasts. It depends on the flavor of the week. Oftentimes I stay away from the crime thrillers or the mysteries because I read about those things every day. So oftentimes it's it's just the grab bag of whatever's coming up on the Apple Podcasts. But I also like history and, recently listened to, an audio book on, it was called The History of Christianity.

00;15;50;24 - 00;15;58;02
Judge Wilson
It was very interesting. The, the, history of the Christian church. I enjoy history and I enjoy podcasts.

00;15;58;05 - 00;16;04;21
Host
Ted Wilson, congratulations on your successful. Yes. Well, it's been a pleasure to sit down with you today. Thank you for your time on Tennessee Court Talk.

00;16;04;26 - 00;16;05;18
Judge Wilson
Thank you, Nick, to.

00;16;05;18 - 00;16;15;03
Host
Learn more about the Tennessee Court System and to read opinions, visit tncourts.gov and listen to more episodes of Tennessee Court Talk on all major podcast platforms.