News release from governor’s office:
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Thomas R. “Skip” Frierson, II as a judge for the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section.
Frierson replaces the Hon. Judge Herschel P. Franks, who retired at the end of 2012.
“Skip Frierson has spent the last 23 years serving in public office in East Tennessee, and he brings a wealth of experience to the bench,” Haslam said. “We are fortunate to have someone in this role with his qualifications and expertise.”
Frierson has served as chancellor in the Third Judicial District, which is comprised of Hamblen, Greene, Hawkins and Hancock counties, since 1996. In 1990, he was elected as Hamblen County General Sessions Court judge, serving in that capacity as judge of the Domestic Relations Court, Probate Court and as municipal judge for the City of Morristown.
He is a past president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and serves as chairperson of the conference’s Tennessee Judicial Family Institute. Frierson was elected a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation in 2007 and served as president of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association from 2007-2009. He was honored as “Trial Judge of the Year” by the American Board of Trial Advocates, Tennessee Chapter in 2000.
“I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence which Gov. Haslam has placed in me in making this appointment,” Frierson said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the state on the Court of Appeals, and I will give my full effort and commitment to performing the duties of judicial office diligently and impartially while promoting trust and confidence in the Tennessee judiciary.”
Frierson, 54, attended Walters State Community College and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1980, earning his J.D. from the University Of Tennessee College of Law in 1983.
He and his wife, Jane, have three children, Reagan Lea, Parker and Garrett, and they are members of the First United Methodist Church of Morristown.
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Note: Haslam chose Frierson over two other nominees sent him by the Judicial Nominating Commission: Former state Sen. Mike Faulk, R-Church Hill, and Chancellor Jerri S. Bryant of Athens.