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County Commission Chooses Tori Smith As General Sessions Court Judge

  • Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Tori Smith
Tori Smith

The County Commission on Wednesday morning named Tori Smith as a judge in General Sessions Court, replacing Alex McVeagh, who is moving up to Circuit Court judge.

Ms. Smith, who currently is a supervisor for the Public Defender's office, received six votes on the second round of balloting.

She was backed by Chip Baker, Joe Graham, Mike Chauncey, David Sharpe, Gene-o Shipley and Ken Smith.

The new judge will be sworn in next Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.

Judge McVeagh will be sworn in Thursday at 2 p.m. to the Circuit Court judge, Division III, seat.

Ms. Smith will serve until the August 2026 general election.

The winner of that election will serve until 2030, which is when the McVeagh term is set to expire.

On the first round, seven of the eight finalists received nominations.

During her public interview, Ms. Smith spoke of her involvement in Honoring the Sacrifice helping wounded soldiers after her husband, Andrew Smith, lost his legs in an explosion while serving overseas. She said she is well familiar with General Sessions Court, while overseeing a team of public defenders in that court. She said she would be especially sensitive to getting third-shift police officers out of court quickly.

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