Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced three judicial appointments on January 22, 2026 – two from Knoxville.

Judge Kyle Hixson, currently serving on the Court of Criminal Appeals, has been appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Holly Kirby. A Crossville native, Judge Hixson worked as an assistant district attorney in the Knox County office following his graduation from Winston College of Law. He then spent two years as an assistant attorney general in Nashville. He returned to Knoxville to serve as deputy district attorney general prior to his appointment and election as Criminal Court judge in 2020. He was appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals and confirmed by the General Assembly in 2022.

Rachel Hurt is a partner at the Knoxville law firm Arnett, Baker, Draper and Hagood. Hurt earned her bachelor’s degree at Syracuse University and juris doctor at The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law. She was recently elected president of the Knoxville Bar Association. Hurt has been appointed to the Eastern Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Judge D. Michael Swiney.

Steve Maroney currently is Chancellor for the 26th Judicial District, serving Chester, Henderson and Madison counties. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Union University and juris doctor at The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Maroney has been appointed to the Western Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Kenny Armstrong.

Greene, Roiphe to speak at Winston Law

The Winston Law Faculty Distinguished Speaker Series will bring two legal scholars to speak on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus in February.

Jamal Greene

Jamal Greene of Columbia Law School will give the Joe Cook Lecture on Friday, February 6, 2026. Greene is the Dwight Professor of Law at Columbia. An expert on the structure of legal and constitutional argument, he wrote How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession With Rights Is Tearing America Apart, as well as numerous law review articles. For two years (January 2023 to December 2024), Greene was a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. He has also served as a senior visiting scholar at major universities and frequently writes for the popular press. He clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Rebecca Roiphe

Rebecca Roiphe of New York Law School will visit with Winston Law faculty on Thursday, February 19, 2026. Roiphe is the Joseph Solomon Distinguished Professor of Law at New York Law School. A leading voice in criminal law and ethics and a trained historian, Roiphe’s scholarship examines the country’s tradition of prosecutorial independence. She has written for national publications, appears regularly on MSNBC and CNN and is a contributing legal analyst at CBS News. She recently completed a term on the Mayor’s Advisory Council on the Judiciary. At NYLS, she teaches Professional Responsibility and Criminal Procedure, and she formerly served as NYLS’s Co-Dean for Faculty Scholarship.

Blotter

DA Charme Allen said prosecutors in the Major Crimes Unit obtained convictions against a man who raped an unconscious woman and video recorded the crime. Judge Emily Abbott revoked the man’s bond, ordered him into custody, and set the case for sentencing on March 26 where he faces 12-20 years in prison without the possibility of parole. The assault occurred on December 17, 2024. When the man was arrested, he had the video recording of the rape on his cell phone. Details here.

Federal prosecutors have secured a multi-count indictment against two men accused of harboring illegal migrants and trying to impede ICE agents from apprehending them at a Hardin Valley construction site. The alleged offenses occurred January 5-13, 2026. One of the men appeared in court on January 23 and entered a plea of not guilty. A detention hearing is set for Monday, January 26, and a trial date has been set for March 31, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer. Details here.

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Some cases move faster than others.  – Sandra Clark

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