William E. Phillips II, who currently serves as a Circuit Court Judge for the Third Judicial District of Tennessee, is being elevated to a new judgeship.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee recently announced the appointment of Phillips to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Division.
“I am proud to announce the appointment of Judge Phillips and value the significant experience he will bring to the Tennessee Court of Appeals,” said Gov. Lee in a recent news release. “Judge Phillips has been a faithful public servant, and I am confident he will continue to lead with integrity.”
Phillips was chosen from a group of three final nominees for the Appeals Court seat.
This appointment of Phillips is subject to confirmation by the General Assembly
Phillips will succeed retiring Judge D. Michael Swiney on the Eastern Division Appeals Court.
The 49 year old Phillips served two decades as an attorney for Phillips & Hale before he became a judge. He worked for another firm as an independent contractor in 2006. He was also the City Attorney for Church Hill from 2017 through 2022 and served Rogersville from 2021 through 2022.
Phillips has an office on Main Street in Rogersville and is the current Circuit Court Judge for the Third Judicial District of Tennessee including the Greene County area. He is nearing his 24th year in the legal profession and has held his current judgeship since October 2021.
Phillips received his bachelor’s degree at the Sewanee, the University of the South, in 1999 and his J.D. at the University of Memphis in 2002. He and his wife of 19 years, Erika, live in Rogersville and have two sons, Will and Mack. He is an elder at the Rogersville Presbyterian Church and a board member of the Rogersville Heritage Association and the Hawkins County Imagination Library.
Phillips is a Circuit Court Judge for Greene, Hamblem, Hawkins, and Hancock Counties.
Phillips, from Rogersville, was appointed by Governor Bill Lee to fill the Circuit Court seat after the retirement of Judge Tom Wright in 2021. Phillips won election to the office in 2022, defeating local attorneys Crystal Jessee and Bradley Mercer.
The elevation of Phillips will leave an absence on the region’s Circuit Court, which was mentioned during Monday night’s Greene County Republican Party meeting.
Local party chair Tom Bible said that the judgeship seat vacancy did not occur in time for the judgeship to be placed on the local May primary ballot. He noted that he was unsure of what the process would be to fill the seat, and had inquired about protocols to state officials. Bible said that the process could include a Republican caucus for each of the counties served by the Circuit Court, which would come up with a party nominee for the seat prior to the August general election.
In other business at Monday’s meeting Republican Road Superintendent candidates Mark Britton and Gary Rector spoke briefly, as well as County Commission candidates Bryan Jones (4th District), Lee Shane (6th District) and Terry Cannon (5th District).
Circuit Court Clerk Whitney Collins and County Clerk Lori Bryant also spoke briefly. Both are running unopposed in the May Republican primary.
Bible then spoke to those at the meeting about the state Republican Party’s bylaws, and the requirements for being running for office as a “bona fide” Republican. Those requirements include being actively involved in the state or local party, voting in three of the last four statewide primary elections, not just local according to Bible, and paying a fee to the state Republican Party’s office.
