The group filed documents with a commission that, after a public hearing, will send three candidates to Gov. Bill Lee for his choosing.
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by Connor Daryani, [The Nashville Banner, Creative Commons] –
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will consider eight applicants to fill retired Judge Cheryl Blackburn’s seat in Davidson County Criminal Court.
A public hearing to consider the applicants will be held on July 31. Any member of the public can attend the hearing and express their opinions on the applicants. The commission will then vote on three applicants to send to Gov. Bill Lee, who will select one to fill the 20th Judicial District vacancy.
Here’s a look at the applicants (click on their names to read their full applications).
Mark Cole
Since earning his law degree from the University of Memphis in 1999, Cole has held a wide array of public and private sector legal positions. Throughout his career, he has practiced various types of law, including real estate, criminal defense, insurance defense, juvenile matters and, most recently, personal injury. According to his application, one of his most recent roles was at TennCare, where he handled member appeals and eligibility denials. Previously, Cole ran for Metro Council District 13 in 2015, losing to Holly Huezo in the runoff.
Ronald Dowdy
Dowdy has been working as an assistant district attorney in District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office, where he is the team leader of the Crimes Against Children Division, since 2017. According to his application, he has exclusively practiced criminal law as a prosecutor since getting his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 2009. From 2010 to 2017, he was a prosecutor in Miami. Notably, Dowdy worked on the team that prosecuted Travis Reinking, the 2018 Waffle House shooter.
Dustin Faeder
According to his application, Faeder has worked as a solo practitioner since 2013 when he got his legal license. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan in 2010 and currently primarily practices indigent law. Faeder said on his application that he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2024, and a discharge was granted. “Significantly, I have recently been involved in a cluster of [order of protection] cases,” Faeder’s application reads. “This is very complicated. The core of these cases is that I protested the prudish, provincial attitudes of a cluster of neighbors by wearing colorful underwear I named my ‘Amicus Briefs’ on the public street near my house, spurring four different neighbors to seek OPs against me based on a ‘stalking’ theory.”
Keeda J. Haynes
Haynes received her law license in 2012 and is currently Senior Legal Counsel at Free Hearts, where she leads legal and policy advocacy efforts related to criminal justice reform and voting rights restoration. Notably, she serves as co-counsel in the Tennessee NAACP’s case against the state regarding policies that disenfranchise individuals convicted of felonies. Much of her career has been devoted to combating felony disenfranchisement. Haynes spent almost 4 years in federal prison beginning in 2003 for marijuana related charges. In 2020, she ran for Congress, seeking to unseat Jim Cooper. She received her law degree from the Nashville School of Law in 2012.
Dominic J. Leonardo
After serving a two-year stint as District 1 Metro councilmember, Leonardo was selected by the Tennessee Supreme Court to serve as a Davidson County General Sessions Court special judge in 2018. He also serves as a legal analyst for NewsChannel 5. He received his law degree from the Nashville School of Law in 2004. His legal experience spans both civil and criminal cases, with his main focuses being criminal law, family law, personal injury litigation, contract litigation and probate law. He currently and for most of his career has practiced as a solo practitioner.
Kyle D. Parks
According to Parks’ application, he has solely practiced criminal defense since getting his legal license in 2009. Parks graduated from Drake University School of Law in 2008. In 2022, he ran for Blackburn’s seat and lost. In 2018, he was appointed to the role of Davidson County Night Court Judicial Magistrate.
Stephen Douglas Thurman
Since 2014, Thurman has worked in the District Attorney’s office as an Assistant District Attorney, where he has prosecuted major felony drug cases, homicides resulting from the distribution of fentanyl, fraud, money laundering, and handled forfeiture proceedings. He received his legal license in 2000 and practiced criminal defense at multiple private practices before joining the DA’s office. He graduated from the Nashville School of Law in 2000. He moved back to Davidson County in late 2024 after living outside of the county for 12 years.
James Harwell Todd
Todd is currently the Division VI Davidson County General Sessions Court Judge. Todd began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in Davidson County, where he remained until 2005, when he entered private practice. According to his application, as a General Sessions Court Judge, 70 percent of his docket is criminal cases. Todd received his law degree from Memphis State University in 1993. Todd received a private informal admonition from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility in 2021 for violating a rule on communication with a person represented by counsel. According to his application, the breach was an accident, and he contacted the board himself.
