With the May 6, 2014 Republican Primary win by County Commissioner Mike Hammond as Knox County Criminal Court Clerk came the loss of Knox County Chief Magistrate Richard A. Major. Major accepted the position as Chief Deputy to Hammond.
Anyone needing a criminal warrant or criminal summons are to appear before a Magistrate. Knox County has five Magistrate and they work with the five Knox County General Sessions Judges. The four current Magistrates are: Magistrate Mark Brown, Magistrate Harold Stewart, Magistrate Robert Cole and Magistrate Christopher Rowe.
There are 8 candidates that the Knox County Commission will consider tomorrow. The Knox County General Sessions Judges work together in reviewing all applicant in Round One and they submit the listing and resumes of candidates that are determined to make it to Round Two. The Knox County Commission is Round two and are the final decision.
The Knox County Commission have interviewed the 8 and tomorrow (8-25-2014) will select one to become the next Magistrate. The list is in alphabetical order,
1. Alexander Brown
2. Maria Danker
3. Dustin Dunham
4. Ray Jenkins
5. Rhonda Lee
6. Myers Morton
7. Jason Smith
8. Steven Williams
Brown has served as a Substitute Magistrate, he has been practicing law in Knoxville since 2002 and has been a Knoxville resident for 20 years. Most interesting from his resume is his work as a Federal Case Law Editor with Lexis Nexis 2000-2002.
Danker has served as a Substitute Magistrate, She currently serves as a prosecutor with the Knox County Child Support Office currently managing an open case load of 20,000 cases. She is a 2009 Graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Dunham has served as a Substitute Magistrate since December 29, 2010, he reports that he has worked 2,545 hours as a Judicial Magistrate during that time. He is a solo practitioner since 2010. He was a Personnel Administrator with the United States Marine Corps from 1997-2001. He lists that while serving as a Substitute Magistrate he has “preside over jail arraignments, speaking in Spanish when necessary.” He studied Spanish when obtaining his Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Maryville College. That is an excellent selling point. Unfortunately, my confidence in the County Commission giving any consideration to that skill is null and void.
Jenkins is a Substitute Magistrate, he has been practicing law for 16 years. He has worked in the private sector as a Program Manager with Computer Sciences Corporation and the United States Air Force. Jenkins has served two terms as the Knox County Republican Party Chairman. He recently was a candidate for Knox County Circuit Court Clerk on May 6, 2014 in the Republican Primary. Circuit Court Judge Elect Kristi Davis won that primary. Jenkins finished behind the runner-up Attorney Billy Stokes.
Lee a Powell, TN resident graduated the Nashville School of Law in 2012. Lee has been practicing solo since 2013. She has worked as a Supervisor with the District Attorney Generals Office in Anderson County, TN. She was an Intern/ Law Clerk under Assistant District Attorney General Steven Sword 2009-2010. Sword is now Knox County Criminal Court Judge. She has worked in several law firms, served as a Deputy Court Clerk with the Knox County Circuit and General Sessions Court, a paralegal for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Knoxville, TN. She has been a licensed real estate agent as well.
Morton graduated from the University of Tennessee with Honors in 1984, went on to the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. In 1988-1990, he practiced with the firm Morton, Lewis, King and Kreig in Knoxville. In 1990, he practiced with his Father, George W. Morton, Jr. He cited that before his uncle L. Clure Morton death and after his uncle retired from the federal bench his uncle mentored him.
Smith has been licensed to practice in Tennessee since October 2009. He is a Junior Law Clerk to the Honorable D. Kelly Thomas, Jr of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. He has worked in the past with firm Butler, Vines and Babb, PLLC. He has also served as a Law Clerk with the University of Tennessee Office of General Counsel.
Williams has been a licensed Attorney since 1985. He has an extensive career having been a Partner with Bunstine, Watson and Williams from 1994-1997. He has been practicing since 2010 with Williams and McCabe and has been of Cousel with Finkelstein, Kern, Steinberg & Cunningham from 2007-2010. He recently ran as a Republican candidate for Knox County Criminal Court Clerk in the May 6, 2014 Republican Primary. Commissioner Mike Hammond won that election. Williams has become a friend and is an all around good guy. I believe he is a long shot on getting the appointment.
Overall, I believe all 8 candidates have strong qualities that would make each of them uniquely qualified to be an exceptional Magistrate. I believe Ray Jenkins probably has the edge with a majority of the Commissioners. However, I believe the Commission should strongly consider, Maria Danker. I am not a guy that believes gender should be a necessary qualifier or disqualifier, however, with Danker’s strong qualifications I believe that considering the other four Magistrates are men, she should be strongly considered. Dunham having bi-lingual skills should be another strong consideration. But, we are talking about a County Commission appointment, now aren’t we? Surprise me County Commission, have a serious conversation about each candidate and then make the selection so there is no doubt that you made the best decision.
