8 Vie To Replace Judge Casey Moreland

NASHVILLE, TN — The Metro Council will decide between a current council member, a former council member, a former clerk of the council and five others when they vote to fill the General Sessions Court position left open by the resignation of embattled and indicted Judge Casey Moreland.

(For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for the Nashville Patch morning newsletter.)

The deadline to apply for the position passed Tuesday and the eight attorneys will first be interviewed by the council's Rules, Confirmations and Public Elections Committee May 2, with the full council making its decision May 16.

The octet are:

• Michael Clemons, a Lebanon native who is a law partner of State Rep. John Ray Clemmons.
• Sam Coleman, in his first term of his second stretch on the council representing Antioch, recently represented former Councilman Loniel Greene Jr.
• Adam Dread, a former Metro councilman and something of a perpetual candidate, ran for General Sessions judge in 2014 as a Republican after the county Democratic Party refuted his bona fides.
• Ana Escobar leads the district-attorney's domestic violence unit and is a former clerk of the Metro Council.
• Barry Gearon of the Gearon Law Firm is a former clerk and court officer for Judge Dan Eisenstein.
• Martesha Johnson works in the Davidson County Public Defender's Office.
• Nick McGregor is a criminal defense attorney who considered a run for the Sylvan Park-area council seat held by Kathleen Murphy in 2015.
• Tillman Payne is a private-practice attorney with offices in Nashville and Carthage. He is former judge advocate-general and Wilson County public defender.

Image via Shutterstock