Shelby County Commissioners picked Assistant District Attorney Taylor Bachelor to serve as interim judge for the Shelby County General Sessions Court with a 9-4 vote during the Monday, Feb. 24, meeting.
Bachelor will fill the vacancy created by Judge Bill Anderson’s retirement March 1. She will remain in the Division 7 seat until voters select a candidate during the November 2026 general election.
“Thank you to this honorable body for your faith in me. I am more than grateful for this opportunity to serve,” said Bachelor. “I want you to know that I am humbled by today’s decision. I will serve this community proudly.”
Bachelor beat out former U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren during the third round of voting. Commissioner Charlie Caswell’s vote clinched the victory. A seven-member majority is required to win. The final round featured the top-two vote getters in the second round.
Voting in favor of Bachelor were commissioners Mickell Lowery, Edmund Ford Jr., Britney Thornton, Erika Sugarmon, Mick Wright, Brandon Morrison, Charlie Caswell Jr., Chair Michael Whaley and Amber Mills. Members Miska Clay-Bibbs, David Bradford, Shante Avant and Henri Brooks voted for Fondren.
The pair emerged from a field of seven after receiving four votes apiece. Commissioners Sugarmon, Wright, Lowery and Caswell voted for Bachelor in the second round. Fondren drew support from Bradford, Avant, Brooks and Whaley.
During the round, former General Sessions Court Judge Loyce Lambert-Ryan received three votes, while Lead Judicial Commissioner John Marshall netted two votes and Deputy Divorce Referee Dewun Settle received one. Judicial commissioners Mischelle Alexander-Best and Kathryn Mozingo didn’t receive votes.
The second round contenders were nominated by commissioners during the first round. Bachelor was nominated by Commissioner Lowery.
“You’re a very impressive group,” said Whaley. “I think we are very pleased with the applicant pool. The only challenge is we can only appoint one person to this position today.”
Overall, there were 13 applicants . The group interviewed with commissioners during a Friday, Feb. 21, General Government Committee meeting.
Bachelor inherits a courtroom that became more divisive as Anderson’s final years unfolded. As crime statistics skyrocketed post-pandemic, concerns grew that his courtroom was becoming a revolving door where violent offenders were released on bond while awaiting trial.
Criticisms also came from commission members. Last March, Wright called for Anderson to step down.
Elected in 2010, Anderson was one of the more senior members of the bench. He was re-elected to another eight-year term in 2022.
Anderson was a proponent of the Standing Bail Order Policy approved by the commission in 2022, leading to creation of a bail hearing room to make the bail process fairer and to prevent a lawsuit the ACLU was threatening to bring against the City of Memphis.
The order required individual hearings to be held within three days in the judge’s chambers. Taking into account a defendant’s financial situation, the policy limited the use of secured money bail.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a law last year that prohibits judges from considering a defendant’s ability to pay when bail is set.
Prior to the commission vote, an advocate of the standing bail order praised the former judge for following “the law.” He also took swipes at those who strayed.
“Judges and judicial commissioners are not following that standing bail order,” said Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City. “They are misusing bail in order to detain more people who have not been found guilty of any crime. State lawmakers from Shelby County have changed the bail law. The presumption of innocence has possibly suffered a knock-out blow. Our jail is full. Jail conditions are deteriorating. People are dying.”
The nonprofit Just City, founded in 2015, advocates for criminal justice reform in the Memphis area.
Two inmates died at the aging and overcrowded Shelby County Jail earlier this month. The deaths followed two other inmate fatalities just days before. The dilapidated facility currently holds more than 2,500 inmates.
