Balancing the Bench

Over the years, Tennessee's disjointed court system has been behind the eight ball when it comes to modernization.

From Megan Podsiedlik

Plagued by bottlenecks and backlogs, caseload has become a major issue in several districts across the state.

Last month, the comptroller's office published the first judicial weighted caseload study since 2020 to evaluate whether Tennessee has the right number of trial-court judges and judicial officers based on actual workload. The numbers are abysmal: 25 of 32 judicial districts show a deficit in judicial resources.

Davidson County handles one of the largest caseloads in the state, with more than 16,700 filings over the last three years. The model also estimates that, as of 2025, Davidson County needs at least one more full-time judge and additional help to meet current demand as new complexities within the legal system add to workload. This includes the submission of more electronic evidence, more self-represented litigants, and legislative changes increasing procedural demands.

Elsewhere, Shelby County handles the most cases, while Knox County suffers from the largest judge shortage. 

In 2025, the state temporarily established the Judicial Redistricting Task Force to review and potentially redraw the state’s judicial districts to address caseload imbalance and population shifts toward urban areas. The task force is set to publish its findings and recommend a redistricting plan by 2027.

In the meantime, Senator Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun) and Representative Rusty Grills (R-Newbern) are attempting to set up some temporary relief. The lawmakers hope to pass a pilot project to provide 10 counties—where criminal courts are experiencing the highest judicial caseload—with the option to create criminal magistrates.

Traditionally, new judgeships are created to address case load at the expense of the state. According to Lowe, the pilot would allow “criminal courts to institute a magistrate to deal with some of the issues that are less pressing and less appropriate for judges” at the expense of the local jurisdiction.

A bill to add a circuit court in the 28th judicial district (Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood counties) upon the implementation of a proposed statewide judicial redistricting plan in 2028 is still moving through the 114th General Assembly. Legislation that would have added a criminal court and judgeship in Shelby County died last week.

✹ TERRORISM IN AMERICA

Domestic Threats to Americans Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Trump administration declared its intent to counter domestic terrorism and organized political violence.​

These efforts have been ongoing and recently bore some fruit, including major federal convictions and an upcoming international summit focused on countering the left-wing movement Antifa and other groups.​

Join us to learn from an expert in the field on domestic threats to the American people, Kyle Shideler, and what the Trump administration's efforts mean for Nashville.

This event is for the benefit of The Pamphleteer, Nashville, and priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free admittance.

BLURBS

🪓 Oracle Layoffs Fresh on the heels of the announcement that Oracle would be leasing 116,000 square feet of space in the Germantown Neuhoff development, layoffs swept through the company, taking out 20 percent of their global workforce as the company reprioritizes around building AI data centers. Some of the layoffs hit the 901 current Nashville employees. Oracle is supposed to invest $1.35 billion and bring 8,500 jobs to Music City by 2031. The new office space at the Neuhoff allows for Oracle to accommodate 2,000 total seats, according to a company press release.

🚗 Driverless Cars Last week, a self-driving Waymo car blocked traffic on Broadway after getting stuck at red light while trying to make it through an intersection. A police officer was able to turn off the self-driving feature and drive it to a nearby parking lot.

Everyday, more and more driverless cars can be spotted navigating through the city as Waymo prepares to launch its autonomous rideshare vehicles in Nashville. The sight is eerie, if not dystopian, when you pass by a car with an empty driver seat. According to an American Automobile Association study conducted in 2024, 66 percent of U.S. drivers expressed fear about fully self‑driving vehicles. As of 2025, over 60 percent of drivers still report being afraid to ride in a self-driving vehicle. Can Waymo make fetch happen?

✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH

New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your councilmember, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)

HEADLINES

• ⚖️ Registry rejects campaign finance complaint against Blackburn. On Tuesday, the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance voted against taking up a complaint filed against Republican gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn that alleged she improperly spent money from her federal account on her state race.The panel said it didn’t have jurisdiction over how the U.S. senator spends her federal money. (State Affairs)
• 🚁 Hegseth lifts suspension of Army pilots who flew by Kid Rock's house, says there won't be investigation. It's not clear what the purpose of the training mission was. It was also not immediately clear how many people the suspension had affected. (CBS)
• 🔪 The knives are out, again. A man was arrested this week after allegedly threatening to kill multiple people and waving around a knife in downtown Nashville. Witnesses told police that they feared for their lives as Robin Rodney Horner, 62, acted erratically at Walk of Fame Park along 4th Avenue on Monday. (WSMV)

DEVELOPMENT

• Another office tower on tap for Germantown's Neuhoff development (NBJ)
• Cafe Babu owners plan bar, boutique for growing neighborhood (NBJ)
• Federal agency to take space in old-school Church Street building (Post)
• West Coast-based unicorn Glean opens Nashville office (Post)

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

TONIGHT

🎻 Final Fantasy: A Symphonic Reunion @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $48+, Info

🎸 Hannah Cohen @ The Blue Room, 7p, $32.51, Info

🎸 Mirah @ DRKMTTR, 8p, Info

🎸 David Newbould, John Surge and the Haymakers & Boo Ray@ Dee's Lounge, 8p, $10, Info

💀 Tennessee Dead @ Tennessee Brew Works, 6p, Info

🪕 Bluegrass Night @ The American Legion Post 82, 7p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.