I was trying a custody case at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court yesterday afternoon when Judge Suzanne Bailey made the announcement to her staff at 2:50PM in her courtroom that she was retiring from the bench effective April 30, 2013. Judge Bailey has served as Juvenile Judge since 1990 and this represents a big transitional period for Hamilton County. With Judge Betty Adams Green retiring as the Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge in September of last year, the State of Tennessee has seen a lot of big changes in the past 6 months or so in the area of Juvenile Law.
The Hamilton County Commission will be appointing an interim Judge in the next few weeks, who will remain on the bench until the election in 2014. It is likely that there will be many people coming out of the woodwork to campaign for the Judgeship, as it is an important job that comes with a good salary and control over a fairly large budget.
It will be interesting to see who ends up getting appointed as the interim Judge, but it sounds like the Juvenile Court is about to be facing a lot of changes in the 15 months ahead. Hopefully it will be to the benefit of the children and families of Hamilton County and hopefully it will be someone with a proven knowledge and interest in Juvenile Law. Judge Suzanne Bailey will be missed.
It will be interesting to see who ends up getting appointed as the interim Judge, but it sounds like the Juvenile Court is about to be facing a lot of changes in the 15 months ahead. Hopefully it will be to the benefit of the children and families of Hamilton County and hopefully it will be someone with a proven knowledge and interest in Juvenile Law. Judge Suzanne Bailey will be missed.
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