Gov. Bill Haslam names Robert Montgomery to Tennessee Appeals Court

Monday, August 26, 2013

photo Bill Haslam
Arkansas-Tennessee Live Blog

NASHVILLE - Gov. Bill Haslam today announced he will appoint Robert H. Montgomery Jr. of Kingsport to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals' Eastern Section.

Montgomery, 59, is currently a criminal court judge in the Second Judicial District. He will replace retiring Criminal Court of Appeals Judge Joseph Tipton, who plans to step down next year at the end of his term.

"Rob Montgomery will be an excellent judge," Haslam said in a news release. "His experience on the bench, as well as his experience as an assistant district attorney and an attorney in private practice will serve East Tennesseans well."

Montgomery has been a criminal court judge since 2006. Prior to that, he was an assistant district attorney general in Sullivan County from 1987-2006 and an unemployment appeals referee in the Department of Employment Security in Kingsport, Morristown, Johnson City and Knoxville from 1986-1987.

The judge said he is "honored and humbled by the trust that the governor has placed in me," Montgomery said. "I look forward to serving the citizens of East Tennessee as a member of the Court of Criminal Appeals."

Montgomery received his law degree from the University of Tennessee.