Middle Tennessee's Chief Federal Judge to Leave Bench; President Trump Has 2 Spots to Fill

NASHVILLE, TN — Just six years into his lifetime appointment, U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Sharp is leaving the bench and returning to private practice, opening up the chance for President Donald Trump to appoint two judges to the federal court in Middle Tennessee.

Sharp, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 and became the Middle District's chief judge in 2014, will leave the bench April 15, according to a resignation letter he sent to the president this week.

"As I return to private practice, I will continue to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. I thank the citizens and leaders of our country for allowing me to play a small role in driving this nation forward," he wrote.

Sharp told The Tennessean he will start and manage a Nashville office for national civil-rights firm Sanford Heisler.

Sharp's departure could drastically reshape the make-up of the bench at the federal courthouse. In November, Todd Campbell announced he was taking senior status after 21 years as a judge. Campbell and Aleta Trauger were appointed by President Bill Clinton. Along with Sharp, Waverly Crenshaw was appointed by Obama. The last judge appointed by a Republican president was Robert Echols, named to the post by George H.W. Bush in 1991.

Now, Trump has two vacancies to fill of the four federal judgeships in Nashville. Only once before — in the seven years between 1992 and 1999 — have two Republican-appointed judges served simultaneously in the Middle District, when the terms of Reagan appointee Thomas Higgins and Echols overlapped.

Image via United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit