Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Thursday the selection of Mary L. Wagner to fill an upcoming vacancy on the state Supreme Court.
The Republican governor nominated Wagner, a circuit court judge in Shelby County, which includes Memphis. This seat is currently held by Judge Roger Page, who is scheduled to retire on August 31st.
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Mr. Page’s retirement gives Mr. Lee the opportunity to appoint a third justice on the five-member court. All five current judges were appointed by Republican governors.
Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee speaks during a panel discussion during the Republican Governors Association conference in Orlando on November 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Ferrand M. Ebenhack)
Wagner was previously an associate at Rice, Amundsen & Caperton and taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis School of Law. Former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam appointed her as a circuit court judge in 2016. She was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
“Mary is a highly qualified judge and will bring significant experience to the Tennessee Supreme Court,” Lee said in a news release. “Her understanding and respect for the rule of law, and her commitment to conservative principles of judicial restraint, make her well suited to serve on the state Supreme Court, and I commend her for this position. I am proud to appoint him.”
Earlier this month, the Governor’s Judicial Appointments Council named Wagner and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judges J. Ross Dyer and Camille R. McMullen as finalists to open the Supreme Court.
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In Tennessee, the governor’s selection of Supreme Court justices must also be approved by state legislators. Republicans control majorities in both chambers. Furthermore, Supreme Court justices face a yes-no retention election every eight years. Voters ensured that Page and four other judges at the time remained in office in the 2022 election.
