General sessions judges can have huge impact

• Six judges are running unopposed and deserve our vote.
• Division II and IX are the most complex races with numerous candidates.

General sessions are courts of "limited jurisdiction," which hold preliminary hearings on felony cases; hear misdemeanor cases in which a defendant has waived grand jury investigation and jury trial rights; and hear civil cases that have monetary limits.

With a number of good candidates sometimes making our choices between better and best, we want to remember that the qualities that make a good judge seem to emerge once he or she begins deciding cases. The best lawyer may not make the best judge, and life experiences outside his or her legal life can be an excellent guide.

More than knowing the law, judges must bring common sense and abiding patience to the job every day. General sessions, because of the large number and wide range of cases, can be the most trying of judicial seats. Our judges must run efficient courts to manage the growing case loads, but temper the efficiency with a human face to the frequently intimidated litigants in their courtrooms.

There are six general sessions judges running unopposed in the primary election who we think deserve your support. They are: Division I, Gale Robinson; III, Angelita Blackshear Dalton; VI, Michael F. Mondelli; VII, William E. (Bill) Higgins; X, Casey Moreland; and XI, John Aaron Holt.

General Sessions Division II is the district's mental health court, which was designated in 2000 to deal with the specialized needs of cases involving a history of mental health issues. Dan Eisenstein is retiring, and the race has attracted one Republican, Marian Fordyce, and five Democrats to the primary.

The five Democrats vying to face the relatively unknown Fordyce (75 percent of lawyers had no opinion of her suitability as a judge) in August are: Melissa Blackburn, 55, an attorney in private practice; Max D. Fagan, 56, currently in private practice, and a former general sessions judge in Robertson County who served as a substitute general sessions judge in Davidson County; Andrea Ellen Lee, 63, a former general sessions judge now in private practice; James P. McNamara, 43, senior assistant public defender in Davidson; and Mark Podis, 54, a bankruptcy attorney.

The Nashville Bar Association evaluation poll shows Blackburn, who was the best-known of the candidates, and McNamara as more recommended than the other candidates: 38 percent and 26 percent; no other candidates got more than 14.3 percent recommended.

Where McNamara separates from the other candidates is in how few not recommends he received. Only 4.4 percent said they would not recommend him for the bench, versus almost 18 percent against Blackburn.

The Division IV race features two personable lawyers — Allegra Walker, 42, a former public defender and assistant district attorney, and Vince Wyatt, 40, a former JAG lawyer and current private defense attorney — running to replace Gloria Dumas, who decided not to run for re-election for medical reasons, though her courtroom management also came under criticism.

The bar association poll significantly favored Wyatt, who is the son of longtime Circuit Court Judge Randall Wyatt, with 50 percent of the lawyers recommending him versus about 15 percent for Walker, who got high marks from her former colleagues.

Wyatt received the highest recommend rating and the lowest not recommend of any candidate in a contested general sessions race; we concur with the bar's voters. (Wyatt is the brother of Tennessean sports writer Jim Wyatt.)

In Division V, incumbent Dianne Turner, 64, who has served one term, faces Robb Bigelow, 37, in the Democratic primary. No Republican has filed.

Turner won her seat in 2006 in her second run for a general sessions bench seat. She also served as a special judge in the courts. Bigelow is a litigation specialist in the Nashville office of Dickinson Wright.

Turner was recommended by 35.5 percent of the Nashville bar poll respondents versus a little less than 27 percent for Bigelow. Though he would bring energy and ideas to the bench, Turner's experience gives her a slight edge in a race between two qualified candidates.

In Division VIII, Blake Freeman, 57, is challenging incumbent Rachel L. Bell, 36, in the Democratic primary. The winner will face Rick Dumas, who is unopposed in the GOP primary.

Bell, who was the surprising winner in a tough primary to replace Leon Ruben after he died in 2012, has worked hard to make her court responsive. Her work seems to have made her somewhat controversial. Though she was recommended by more than 36 percent of the bar poll voters, versus Freeman's 25.2 percent, she also was not recommended by 22 percent. Freeman was not recommended by 10.2 percent.

While Freeman brings an interesting mix of experience to the race, including as a hearing officer for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, and ideas such as a "habitual offenders' court," we think Bell's energetic and innovative initiatives during her short stint warrant election to a full term.

In another congested contest, the Division IX Democratic primary has seven candidates looking to face unopposed Republican Adam Dread as the replacement for retiring Judge Sue McKnight Evans, who served on the court for 18 years.

Jefre S. Goldtrap, 52; Tee Gorham, 46; Sheryl Guinn, 35; Lynda Jones, 49; Jay Norman, 58; Edward S. Ryan, 54; and Paul Walwyn, 44, bring a diverse range of choices to the primary.

Goldtrap, a criminal defense attorney who also has worked as a child abuse investigator; Guinn, a Nashville native who has been a criminal defense attorney for seven years; and Paul Walwyn, a criminal defense attorney for 18 years, received the least backing from the bar poll respondents.

Ryan, a former Metro police officer and assistant district attorney, and Jones, a bankruptcy lawyer and founder of the East Nashville Neighborhood Compassion Center, received the most recommends from the poll. Ryan was recommended by 26.2 percent to Jones at 30.3 percent; however, Ryan received far fewer not recommended, 7.8 percent, to Jones' 21.3 percent.

Gorham, also a Nashville native, who has 20 years of experience trying cases in General Sessions courts, and Norman, another Nashville native, who has tried cases for 30 years and is the son of Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman, were recommended by 19.6 percent and 22 percent of bar respondents.

Ryan, Gorham, Norman or Jones would make a good choice in the Democratic primary.

Juvenile Court

The district also has a juvenile court, which is a designated general sessions court. Sophia Brown Crawford, 52, was appointed to the court in 2012 when Betty Adams Green retired early. In the Democratic primary, she faces Sheila Calloway, 44, who lost out to become judge in 2012, but worked as a magistrate in juvenile court until filing to run against Crawford. No Republican filed.

Crawford benefited from her two years on the court. In 2012 Crawford got the judgeship though the bar poll favored Calloway; this time around Crawford was the favored pick of the respondents by 35 percent to Calloway's 26 percent.

Calloway says she would push the establishment of a coordinated effort between agencies serving at-risk youth and the court to focus on preventing young people from appearing before the court.

But Crawford has been an effective judge. She has focused on preventive measures and established a "problem-solving court" for engaging parents. We think Crawford's experience gives her the edge in this race.