Contest for Knoxville Municipal Court judge is unusually competitive | Georgiana Vines

Municipal Judge John R. Rosson Jr. is facing the toughest challenge of his 36-year career, borrowing money to keep up with the pace of his opponent, lawyer Tyler M. Caviness, leading to the Nov. 7 general election.

In the latest financial disclosure covering Aug. 20-Sept. 30, Rosson reported raising $6,310 and having $5,063 on hand after expenses, but he also had outstanding loans of $13,500. Caviness reported having $18,560 on hand after raising $22,100.

And on Oct. 11 while trying to show off new courtroom technology, which he feels he influenced, in the city's new Public Safety Complex at the old St. Mary’s Hospital site off Broadway, Rosson also had a former opponent, Andrew Beamer, there to endorse him, which raised questions about violating city and state ethics rules for judges.

A campaign aide, Mona Nair, later said it was her idea to show off the technology, including a large TV for showing videos of police at work; accommodating requests for early voting interviews with the media; and then combining them with the endorsement the judge wanted publicized.

Caviness raised the ethics issue on Oct. 11, the day of Rosson’s press conference, but also said he and his campaign would not file a complaint. The state Code of Judicial Conduct and the city’s Code of Ordinances say officials may not use court staff, facilities or other resources for campaign purposes or private gain or advantage.

Rosson said he attempted to reach three judges ‒ Timothy Discenza, Shane Hutton and Dee David Gay – who have served on the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct to discuss the potential ethical issue but was unsuccessful. Asked Oct. 12 if he had heard back from any of them, he said, “No, I still haven’t heard from them.”

During the primary, lawyer Mary Ward also was a candidate. She also has endorsed Rosson, although she wasn’t present for the press conference. A picture of Rosson with Beamer and Ward appears on his Facebook page.

The municipal or city court judge hears violations of city ordinances such as speeding and parking tickets, animal nuisances and other low-level cases, including those involving alcohol but not DUIs. The city judge’s salary is $92,000 and whoever holds the position can also have a private law practice.

At a forum on Oct. 9 sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County and others organizations, Rosson, 75, maintained his court operations don’t need any changes while Caviness, 31, argued they did.

Caviness brought up the one complaint heard most about Rosson – that citizens have to wait for him to show up in court. Caviness cited what he said he had found through Google with a person complaining about being in court an hour before the judge appeared. Caviness also said he felt the court’s website, which he said contains a hodgepodge of information, needs improving.

Rosson responded that court does start on time, with a clerk calling the roll of cases. Because the Knoxville Police Department is short staffed, officers do not appear until contacted as needed, he said. The clerk takes care of cases involving improper equipment, and “when I come in, we move through cases quickly,” he said.

At the Monday forum, one of the issues that came up was whether candidates for city judge should be partisan. Both Caviness and Rosson said they should not be, but it is an issue in that the Knox County Republican Party has endorsed Rosson in the nonpartisan race. The Democratic Party of Knox County has not made an endorsement, but Caviness is benefiting from a number of Democrats who have contributed to his campaign and the expertise of Jack Vaughan, a member of the state Democratic Party Executive Committee, who is running his campaign. The financial disclosure shows Vaughan was paid $2,000 for the month that was reported.

Among other highlights of the disclosures is that one of the largest contributions to the Caviness campaign was $1,100 from Joan Ashe, wife of former Knoxville Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe, who writes a political column for Knoxnews. Among the largest donations to the Rosson campaign was $800 from former Knox County Commission member and developer Scott Davis.

Another Rosson supporter is Knoxville City Councilman Charlie Thomas, who was to announce his support on Oct. 15 and is seeking reelection unopposed to represent the 5th District.

A question asked at the forum was what non-legal experience would form how each candidate approaches the law.

Following the forum format, Caviness answered first. He said he has a nontraditional setting with his wife, Christy, an attorney in the Knox County District Attorney’s office. He said when they met in law school and started dating in 2015, she was a single parent of two daughters, Lyric, now 15, and Nimueh, 11. He also has coached lacrosse, a sport he played on scholarship at Tennessee Wesleyan College. He worked in the Public Defender’s Office with clients with basic needs. He also said he had learned from door-knocking for votes and committing to honor what voters want.

Rosson said he also had been a coach of several sports (he’s the father of three adult children) and has served on the boards of the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee and its Office on Aging. He also has been active in Sertoma and Civitan clubs. He added that he is aware of the economic impact on people charged with violating city ordinances and frequently suspends court costs to help people out.

During the campaign, it was reported that Rosson had his own case before a Williamson County General Sessions Court on July 11 after he was cited for “reckless driving, driving head on with traffic on interstate” and was traveling the wrong way on a one-way road in February. Rosson said at the time and repeated on Oct. 12 that he was went the wrong way up the exit ramp to get to a gas station to use the bathroom.

A review of the case on the state’s online court records system shows that the case has been rescheduled until July 9, 2024. Rosson said Oct. 12 his attorney, Adrian H. Altshuler of Williamson County, worked out a deal with the local district attorney that the charges would be dismissed if he didn’t have additional violations.

“I did not enter a plea of any kind and I was not found guilty of anything,” he said. His attorney did not return a phone call to this columnist to confirm the deal.

The last time Rosson had an opponent was in 2003, when he defeated lawyer Mark Jendrek with 67.46% of the vote in the primary.

In this year’s primary on Aug. 29, Rosson received 5,963 of the votes cast and Caviness 5,735, which moved them on to the general election. Ward received 2,215 votes and Beamer, 1,924.

Early voting in the general election begins Oct. 18.

Rosson also said an open house ‒ set by the city, “not me” ‒ for the new Public Safety Complex will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 18. He said the city court’s new “beautiful” courtroom will be open for visitors to see.

∎ TRUMAN DAY DINNER: Tickets continue to be sold but are selling out fast for the annual Truman Day fundraising dinner of the Knox County Democratic Party at 6:40 p.m. Oct. 27 at the downtown Hilton, according to party leaders. Individual tickets are $80 each. Sponsors at levels of $250 to $5,000 will be invited to a pre-reception cocktail with U.S. Senate candidate Gloria Johnson, the main speaker, and others prior to the dinner. Those who pay at $100 levels will be listed in the program and other promotions but are not included in the pre-reception event as previously reported by this columnist.

∎ ANOTHER HONOR FOR CLEMENT: Former U.S. Rep. Bob Clement, a Democrat who lived in Knoxville while serving on the former Tennessee Public Service Commission and on the Tennessee Valley Authority board when it had three full-time members, was recognized Oct. 9 by the American Public Transportation Association for his leadership in advancing public transportation. He received the Distinguished Service Award at the association’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida.

The association credited Clement for legislative accomplishments for short lines and regional railroads when he was ranking member of the House Railroads Subcommittee.

He served eight terms in 1998-2003 representing Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in Nashville. He left Congress to run for the U.S. Senate but was defeated that year by Republican Lamar Alexander. Clement is active in the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, a program in partnership with the Stennis Center for Public Service in which both sides of the political aisle are represented.

Georgiana Vines is retired News Sentinel associate editor. She may be reached at gvpolitics@hotmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Georgiana Vines: Knoxville Municipal Court judge race is competitive