Cumberland County GOP hears from Circuit Court Part 2 candidates

Mar. 28—Caroline Knight and incumbent Jonathan Young, candidates for Circuit Court Part 2 judge, fielded questions from the Cumberland County Republican Party March 15, sharing judicial philosophy and addressing concerns.

Circuit Court Part 2 serves the 13th Judicial District, which includes Cumberland, Clay, DeKalb, Overton, Pickett, Putnam and White counties. The court can hear a variety of cases, including civil cases, such as divorces, estates, workers compensation, property disputes or contract disputes.

It can also assist other courts, including Chancery Court and Criminal Court, as necessary.

The candidates introduced themselves, sharing their legal experience and qualifications for the office.

Knight has practiced law for 15 years, first in private practice handling a variety of civil matters and, for the past 11 years, as a prosecutor with the Assistant District Attorney's Office. For the past six years, she has focused on cases involving child abuse.

"I did not go to law school with the aim of becoming a judge," Knight said. "I had being a lawyer on my mind. But after acquiring over 15 years of broad legal experience, I feel compelled to run. I feel the race for Part 2 is a moral imperative."

She has handled cases ranging from parental rights appeals, contract disputes, and felony murder prosecution.

Young has held the position of Circuit Court Part 2 judge since 2014, noting he replaced a Democratic candidate who had served for 30 years. He has 23 years of legal experience in civil law. While the court can hear criminal cases, Young said he hears very few criminal matters unless the Criminal Court judges have a conflict.

"I don't have an easy job," Young said. "I believe if you become before me as a litigant, you have as much value as the person sitting across the table from you ... You deserve equal justice under the law.

"It matters who your judge is. It matters who has the experience to do that job. It matters who the person is that will make the tough decisions most people don't like."

Why are you running as a Republican candidate? Please explain what values of the Republican Party align with your personal values.

Knight said she grew up in a rural farming community. Her parents raised her with conservative values. She said she believes in individual liberty, personal accountability, and fiscal and personal responsibility.

"These conservative values are who I am," Knight said. "Individual liberty is inextricably tied to the rule of law. No one is above the rule of law.

"I would submit to each of you that conservative judges are critical to ensuring that the rule of law is upheld in our trial courts."

She said elected judges should reflect the constituents' values "in word and in deed."

"As your next circuit court judge, I will uphold the rule of law. I will exercise judicial restraint, and bring integrity to Part 2," she said.

Young said he was raised by "FDR Democrats," as most people in the area were 25-30 years ago.

"Many of FDR and JFK's values as Democrats 40-50 years ago are now the same values we tout as Republicans," Young said. "We believe in family. We believe in God. We believe in guns."

But, Young said the role of Circuit Court judge is not about political party. It is about listening to the evidence and determine who the law and facts support.

"I don't make laws. I interpret them," he said. "To say I bring my conservative values to that, that's fine. I wish children would grow up in the loving environment I was. That's not the cases I see. I see the cases where the meth babies come in and mom and dad are fighting over them. I say, 'Neither one of you are getting the children. Who else we got?'

"That's the world we live in."

Those are not easy decisions, Young said, and they must be made every day.

Please identify any formal complaints that have been filed against you with any supervisory authority, particularly the Board of Professional Responsibility or Board of Judicial Conduct, alleging any breach of ethics or unprofessional conduct. If so, explain.

Knight said judges must avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

"I stand behind my record as an attorney representing clients in private practice and as a prosecutor," she said.

As a prosecutor, she said she has been held to higher standards than other attorneys.

"In 15 years of practice, I have never had a formal complaint alleging any breach of ethics or unprofessional conduct," Knight said. "With no complaints, I've had no sanctions. I've always acted in a professional manner."

Young said, "I think that question was directed at me, because I'm the only one that's had an ethical complaint."

Young was reprimanded by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct in October 2020 for sending "inappropriate messages" to multiple women on various social media platforms from 2015-'20. The messages were described as "flirtatious to overtly sexual," and many depicted him in his judicial robe.

While Young could have fought to keep the reprimand private, he said at the time he chose not to. At the time, he said, "While it was a private mistake, some chose to make it public and that is fine. I will say a few years ago I was in a dark place and sought comfort where I shouldn't. I quickly ended everything before it went further than just talk but that was not enough."

Young did not address the 2020 reprimand. He instead focused his answer on recent news reports regarding a motion for Young to recuse himself from a civil suit brought by multiple counties, including Cumberland County, against an opioid manufacturer pending in his court.

In February, Young found pharmaceutical company Endo Health Solutions in default in the civil case for discovery violations — not turning over documents required under the law to the plaintiffs in the case. A damages trial was set for April 2023.

The company issued a press release that same week and, before a transcript of the hearing or a written order was filed, Young gave an interview to a national outlet that focuses on legal news, and referenced that interview on social media.

Young said the company had not provided about 50 million documents required under Tennessee's discovery laws.

"They say mean things about me. Does that bother me? I don't care. I didn't grant a default because they sold opioids. Last time I checked, it's still legal to sell opioids," Young said. "I granted default because they couldn't follow discovery rules."

The plaintiff has argued Young did not breach judicial ethics in the case. The order of default cannot be filed until that motion has been decided.

Do you believe the U.S. Constitution and its original amendments say what it means and means what it says, or do you believe the rights are up for modern interpretation at the whims of judges?

Knight said, "Yes, I believe the Constitution says what it means and means what it says."

Knight added she is an "originalist," and believes the Constitution means what it meant when written and should not be evaluated through the lens of modern society.

Young said he is sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution.

"I think the Founding Fathers said what they meant," he said. "Sometimes the government overreaches."

He said he had a case that dealt with "government overreach," with a law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly that required judges to allow defense attorneys in medical malpractice cases to talk to the plaintiff's doctors without them or their attorney present.

"I said, nope. They could say we could consider or might do something, but you can't say we 'shall' do something," Young said.

The case went to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which agreed with Young's ruling.

"We are still a separate branch of government. They can't tell us how to do," Young said.

The state has changed the law to allow defense attorneys to speak to doctors, though the plaintiff's attorney is present.

"Forty-six other trial judges in the state said that was fine," Young said. "I was the only one that said, 'I think we have a problem with that.'"

Do you believe a judge should have broad discretion in the interpretation of the law when ruling on a case? If not, please state why. If yes, please state when and how you would apply this discretion.

Knight said judges should not legislate from the bench and favors judicial restraint.

"A judge's role is not to make the law, but to apply the law as written to the facts presented," she said. "Judges must uphold the rule of law. Period."

Young said, "It depends on the case."

There are times the law allows judges to exercise discretion while in other cases his "hands are tied."

He said he often needs discretion to come up with the best solution for custody of drug-endangered children and to assist parents by requiring rehabilitation or setting specific guidelines.

But, in some custody matters, the only punishment available for some infractions, such as dropping a child off a few minutes late one time, is to serve 10 days in jail. That would not be an appropriate punishment.

It might be different if late drop-offs are part of a pattern.

"There's not a cookie cutter that fits every single case," he said. "We have to follow the law, but we also have to use common sense in this job. Common sense goes a long, long way."

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.