U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
Tennessee · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Sixth Circuit.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Sixth Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Current judges
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Waverly David Crenshaw Jr. (current) · Eli Jeremy Richardson (current) · Aleta Arthur Trauger (current) · William Lynn Campbell Jr. (current) · Thomas Anderton Wiseman Jr. · John Trice Nixon · Leland Clure Morton · Thomas Aquinas Higgins
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Hunter Sharp | Obama (D) | 2011–2017 |
| William Joseph Haynes Jr. | Clinton (D) | 1999–2017 |
| Todd J. Campbell | Clinton (D) | 1995–2021 |
| Robert L. Echols | G.H.W. Bush (R) | 1992–2010 |
| Thomas Aquinas Higgins | Reagan (R) | 1984–2018 |
| John Trice Nixon | Carter (D) | 1980–2019 |
| Thomas Anderton Wiseman Jr. | Carter (D) | 1978–2020 |
| Leland Clure Morton | Nixon (R) | 1970–1998 |
| Frank Gray Jr. | Kennedy (D) | 1962–1978 |
| William Ernest Miller | Eisenhower (R) | 1955–1970 |
| Leslie Rogers Darr | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1939–1940 |
| Elmer David Davies | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1939–1957 |
| John J. Gore | Harding (R) | 1923–1939 |
| Xenophon Hicks | Harding (R) | 1923–1928 |
| Edward Terry Sanford | T. Roosevelt (R) | 1908–1923 |
| Charles Dickens Clark | Cleveland (D) | 1895–1908 |
| David McKendree Key | Hayes (R) | 1880–1895 |
| Connally Findlay Trigg | Lincoln (R) | 1862–1880 |
| West Hughes Humphreys | Pierce (D) | 1853–1862 |
| Morgan Welles Brown | By assignment | 1839–1853 |
Magistrate judges
Appointed by the judges of this district to renewable 8-year terms, not nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. They handle pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and many civil cases by consent.
| Magistrate judge | Years |
|---|---|
| Jeffery S. Frensley | 2016–present |
| Alistair E. Newbern | 2016–present |
| Barbara D. Holmes | 2015–present |
| Joe B. Brown | 1998–present |
| John S Bryant | 2006–2016 |
| E Clifton Knowles | 2000–2016 |
| Juliet E Griffin | 1995–2015 |
Bankruptcy court
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1839. This court is also served by magistrate judges, listed above, whom the district’s own judges appoint. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data). Data as of 2026-08-10 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.