As part of the ongoing series to introduce judicial candidates on the 2022 ballot, this week features Van Buren and White Counties. The General Sessions judge serves two counties in this unique Tennessee court. All general sessions courts have limited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases. Each county’s jurisdiction is determined by state laws and private acts. Because most of us only see the inside of a courtroom when called for jury duty or resolving a traffic ticket, we’ve collected info about the court and the candidates for your consideration! Watch the blog for updates about the other judicial races in the Upper Cumberland!
In General Sessions court, criminal jurisdiction includes preliminary hearings in felony cases and misdemeanor trials in which a defendant waives the right to a grand jury investigation and trial by jury in Circuit or Criminal Court. Civil jurisdiction is restricted to specific monetary limits and types of actions. The Van Buren and White County General Sessions Judge also has Juvenile Court jurisdiction. By private act, the Van Buren and White County General Sessions Judge has concurrent powers with the Chancery Court and Circuit Court in some matters, such as probate.
Five Attorneys Have Announced Candidacy – scroll down!
Incumbent General Sessions Judge Sam Benningfield is not running for reelection upon completion of his term in August 2022. Republican voters will choose between at least five candidates on the May 3rd, 2022 Primary ballot. Early voting will be April 13th – 28th. The successful primary candidate will be on the August 4th general election ballot with early voting July 15-30th.
Check Out the Bios Submitted by the Candidates!
Matt Bailey
Matthew Sewell Bailey was raised in Hickory Valley, on the river between White and Van Buren Counties. He graduated from White County High School, where he played basketball and football and was student body president his senior year. After graduating, he majored in social studies education at UT Chattanooga and taught at Van Buren County High School.
Matt then went on to MTSU, where he earned a master’s degree in history and met his future wife Katie. Katie and Matt have been married for over ten years and have three children – Evan Paul Bailey (9 years old), Colin Graham Bailey (5 years old), and Logan David Bailey (5 months old).
After having his first child, Matt decided to change career paths to follow his passion and better support his family. He attended Belmont College of Law, where he graduated second in his class, earned best performance awards in eight courses, and was on the Executive Board of the Law Review.
Finally, Matt came back home to practice law in Sparta. He focuses on criminal, custody, and juvenile cases but also handles conservatorships, probate, estate planning, and eviction issues. He has offices in Sparta and in Altamont. Matt lives in Sparkmantown in Van Buren County where his Dodson family has owned land since 1808.
https://www.mattbaileylaw.com/
Cynthia Fields Davis
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Cynthia Fields Davis and I am seeking the position of General Sessions Judge for Van Buren and White Counties. I was born and raised in Bledsoe County and moved to Van Buren County when I got married in 1994. I graduated from Tennessee Technological University and Nashville School of Law while working full-time. I graduated from law school in 1995 and was admitted to the bar the same year.
I began my career in a local firm in Crossville, Tennessee and became a partner in that firm before opening my own office in 1999. I continue to work as a solo practitioner. I have practiced in the General Sessions Court of all surrounding counties since that time, including Van Buren and White Counties.
My husband and I raise Black Angus cattle on our farm, Triple D Farms in Van Buren County. We have a 15 year old daughter, Makena, who is a sophomore at Van Buren County High School.
I have decided to run for the Republican Nomination for General Sessions Judge because I believe I can make a difference one case at a time. I have the necessary trial experience in numerous counties to ensure this Court is conducted efficiently and effectively. I have practiced in many facets of the law, including criminal defense as well as family law. I am a firm believer that justice should be tempered with common sense. There are laws set forth by the State of Tennessee which every Judge is required to follow and I can be trusted to follow those laws for each and every citizen.
Each and every case makes a difference in the lives of several people, including the defendant and potentially victim. Not even to mention the families of those people. Therefore, I feel it is imperative that each and every case be given the individual attention it deserves because each life it affects matters, treating all with respect.
Every interaction with the Court system does not have to be a negative one. I hope to make a positive effect on everyone involved.
I am a Conservative Christian Republican and pledge to uphold the Constitutions of the United States and the state of Tennessee and to faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of the office. I promise to work hard every day. I humbly ask for your prayers, support and VOTE in the May primary to be your General Sessions Judge. PLEASE JOIN MY TEAM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE ONE CASE AT A TIME. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TOGETHER!!!
Contact Cynthia Fields Davis: CFDforGSJudge@gmail.com
Brandon Griffin
Brandon was born and raised in Sparta, Tennessee. His parents are White County natives as well as most of his extended family members. Brandon’s Great-Grandfather, Bailey Daniels, was a WWII Veteran and ran a body shop for many years in White County. His mother, Lori Griffin, recently retired from teaching special education at White County Middle school, where she taught for many years. His father, Bo Adams, worked in construction to include home building, cabinetry and brick masonry. Brandon grew up learning the value of hard work and that a man’s word is his bond. He graduated from White County High School in 2006. While in high school, Brandon started his own business called “Griffin’s Goldens” in which he raised golden retrievers. He used those earnings along with money made from working with his dad in construction to pay for college. Griffin’s Goldens is still run by his parents to this day and Brandon still enjoys helping out when he can. He went on to graduate from Tennessee Tech with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, where he earned high honors.
Brandon graduated in the top 25% of his class from Cecil C. Humphrey’s School of Law. While in law school, Brandon earned CALI awards for academic excellence in two classes. The classes were Decedent’s Estates and Admiralty Law. During law school, Brandon was a member of the Cecil C. Humphrey Elder Law Clinic in which he was able to help low-income seniors in the Shelby County area. After graduation Brandon passed the Tennessee Bar on his first attempt.
Brandon moved back to Sparta, TN after graduating law school. Once he was admitted to practice law in 2013 he began his own practice where he shared office space with another local attorney. He and that attorney, Mike Rocco, went on to form Rocco and Griffin, PLLC in 2015. With the skills he learned working with his father, Brandon and his partner were able to purchase and renovate the office in Sparta. The firm has grown quickly and is able to employ multiple attorneys and staff members with satellite offices in Warren and Trousdale Counties. Brandon still heads up the firm to this day as the newly named Griffin Law Group, PLLC. Brandon uses his practice to help the local community by volunteering his legal services to provide wills and powers of attorney for veterans and law enforcement. Brandon is also panel council for the Southern States Police Benevolent Association in the Upper Cumberland. He is an active member of the Tennessee Bar Association.
Brandon resides in White County with his wife, Danielle, and his daughter Irelia. His wife Danielle works for the Department of Children’s Services as a placement specialist for the Upper Cumberland Region. In his spare time, Brandon enjoys fishing, kayaking, and spending time with his family.
Brandon Griffin’s Campaign Links:
Macey Dawson Gurley
Macey Dawson Gurley is a proud native of Sparta, Tennessee and has an extensive background in advocating for children and families. She has assisted a non-profit organization in passing legislation to promote public awareness of human trafficking and impose harsher punishments for the perpetrators in Virginia. Macey further helped develop alternative solutions for the problems in the Virginia child support system in her school’s Child Advocacy Practicum. Additionally, Macey interned with Judge Sam Benningfield, the current General Sessions Judge for White and Van Buren counties.
Macey has since returned to Tennessee to private practice in Sparta, Tennessee. Macey has practiced in all areas pertaining to the General Sessions Court. Macey’s office is located in Sparta, Tennessee. She handles matters in family law and civil litigation almost exclusively in White and Van Buren Counties with a focus on divorce, child custody and support, juvenile law, debt collection, detainer actions, and wills and estates. She often represents children in juvenile delinquency matters and serves as an advocate for children in dependency and neglect matters. Macey has also received specialized training to assist couples through the collaborative divorce process, an emerging area of divorce procedure that focuses on cooperative practices as opposed to adversarial tactics.
She is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, the Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers Association, and the Upper Cumberland Lawyers’ Association for Women. She is a proud member of the National Association of Counsel for Children. She has devoted her time to the Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers in their local Wills for Heroes clinic and has assisted domestic violence victims in obtaining legal services through the Legal Aid Clinic.
She currently serves as a consulting member of White County High School’s Career Technical Advisory Committee and hosts work-based students from the high school each semester.
As a result, Macey has been selected to assist the White County General Sessions Court in establishing the Family Treatment Court. The goal of the program is to provide intensive services to parents while helping establish a safe and stable home environment for their family.
Macey currently lives in White County with her family.
Macey Gurley’s Campaign Links:
John Meadows
Long time White County resident, John Meadows, has announced his intention to be a candidate for General Sessions Judge serving White and Van Buren Counties. John Meadows will be on the May 3rd, 2022, ballot in the Republican Primary.
Meadows states “I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and my family and share why I am asking you to allow me to serve you as your next General Sessions Judge. My Family and I have called White County home for over 22 years since I married my wife, Arlene Elrod Meadows, a White County native. Arlene and I have been blessed to live in one of America’s best communities and raise our twin daughters, Avery and Allison, both 2020 graduates of White County High School.
My experience with the Court in White County began in 1997 when I was working as a Juvenile Case Officer for UCHRA with an office in the American Legion Building on Liberty Square. Being in the Courtroom inspired me to become an attorney and I worked full-time as a Case Manager for the State of Tennessee helping at-risk and abused and neglected children while attending night school at Nashville School of Law.
I have acquired a broad range of legal experience since I began practicing law in 2003. I have been engaged in private practice for several years focusing on family law, criminal law, probate, and civil litigation. Early in my career, I served as an attorney for the State of Tennessee where I was responsible for prosecuting dependency and neglect cases in Juvenile Court and later served as an Assistant Public Defender assigned to the General Sessions and Criminal Courts in White County. I served as Counsel for the White County Emergency Communications District from 2012-2014 and have continuously served as the County Attorney for White County since 2014, the City Attorney for the Town of Livingston since 2008 and was recently appointed to serve as the Municipal Court Judge for the City of Sparta. In 2017, I was approved by the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to be listed as an approved Rule 31 Family Law Mediator. Having conducted several mediations, I am experienced in serving as a neutral, listening to both sides and helping people find common ground. Judges have a significant impact on our daily lives and are entrusted to make important decisions. Your General Sessions Judge will routinely be called upon to determine, among other things, parental rights, placements for abused and neglected children, whether to issue an order of protection, whether to issue a search warrant or the appropriate length of someone’s jail sentence.
I care about our community and believe that my values, maturity, and experience have equipped me with the ability and character necessary to effectively serve you as your next General Sessions Judge and to preside over your Court in a firm, fair and efficient manner. I pledge that if elected, I will strive to ensure the fair, impartial, and independent administration of justice and ensure that every person who comes before your Court is treated with dignity, respect and fairness. I further pledge to be a good steward of your resources and to have the same temperament the day after I’m sworn in, as now when I am humbly seeking your support for Sessions Judge.”
provided by John Meadows for General Sessions Judge, Debbie Ward, Treasurer.
John Meadows Campaign links:
