Judge Don Poole
Judge Barry Steelman speaks to potential jurors during jury selection on Tuesday, Apr. 7, 2015, in Chattanooga.
*Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 11/23/15. Judge Tom Greenholtz leads the 10th anniversary drug court graduation ceremony on Monday, November 23, 2015. Hamilton County’s Criminal Court judges are one beloved bunch – at least to the attorneys who appear before them.
In a recent Chattanooga Bar Association poll, local attorneys awarded sparkling reviews in almost every category to judges Don Poole, Barry Steelman and September newcomer Tom Greenholtz.
Other notable finishers included Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Hollingsworth, who scooped up 591 votes for an overall 85 percent superior rating, and General Sessions Judge Clarence Shattuck, who landed an 81 percent superior rating from 510 votes.
“It’s a pleasure to serve, and I’m grateful for the opportunity and am pleased to have those kinds of scores,” Steelman said Friday. “I’m just grateful to be regarded in that manner.”
Poole, a legal stalwart who swept the poll in 2012, was not available for comment on Friday. But Greenholtz, the state’s successor to Criminal Court Judge Rebecca Stern, was pleased about the outcome.