July 19, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission met Tuesday, July 18, in Crossville to select nominees for a newly created criminal court judge position in the 13th judicial district, which includes Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, and White counties. The new judicial position was created by the Tennessee General Assembly this year and is effective September 1, 2023.
After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the Commission selected the following nominees to forward to Governor Bill Lee for his consideration:
Shawn C. Fry of Cookeville
Brandon Scott Griffin of Sparta
Benjamin Marsee of Cookeville
*Fry, age 54, is an attorney at Fry, Fry, Knight & Looper, Attorneys at Law in Cookeville. Fry was licensed to practice law in 1996.
*Griffin, age 34, is in the private practice of law as owner of Griffin Law Group, PLLC in Sparta. He was licensed to practice law in 2013
*Marsee, age 40, is an assistant public defender for the 13th judicial district and works part time as an adjunct professor of law in the Business Department at Tennessee Tech University. He was licensed to practice law in 2008.
Other applicants for the position were William Nicholas Blaylock of Sparta and Rebecca Brady of Baxter.
The governor will soon appoint one of the applicants to serve as judge and the person so appointed shall serve in that capacity until September 1, 2024, or until the person’s successor is elected and qualified. At the August 2024 general election, the qualified voters of the thirteenth judicial district shall elect, in accordance with § 16-2-505, one (1) person to serve as judge of part III of the circuit court created by this section. The person so elected at the August 2024 election shall hold office until September 1, 2030, or until the person’s successor is elected and qualified. Thereafter, the judge of part III of the circuit court shall be elected for a full eight-year term.