Judge Robert Wedemeyer Elected Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge

Criminal Court of Appeals (CCA) Judge Robert Wedemeyer was recently elected presiding judge of the CCA.

“He was voted in by acclamation, so everybody is excited for him to take the reins,” said CCA Judge Camille McMullen.

As presiding judge, Wedemeyer will be responsible for:

• Presiding at all meetings of the Court and at trials
• Ruling upon the admission or exclusion of evidence
• Serving as the spokesperson for all matters pending before the Court
• Writing or designating a member of the hearing panel that heard the matter to write the majority opinion

Judge McMullen, who is the CCA outgoing presiding judge, traveled to Nashville July 25 to pass the torch to Judge Wedemeyer with a unique looking plaque bestowed upon every newly elected CCA presiding judge. The plague features the whimsical, stylized face of a man carved in wood. “The infinity/eternity plaque has all of the presiding judges’ names on it,” said Judge McMullen. “From what I was told from the presiding judge who gave it to me, [the late] Judge Curwood Witt, it’s just been handed down to each of the presiding judges to have in their offices, to give them inspiration, so to speak. I said there’s got to be more to the story as to why our judges selected this particular statue. He said, ‘Nope, nope, just keep it in your office. It’s kind of magic. Just keep it in your office and don’t break it.’”

Judge Wedemeyer becomes the 14^th judge to have his name added to the plaque.

“We just have an outstanding group of judges on our court,” he said. “We always have since I’ve been on here, but this group there’s just a natural collegiality and a lot of that is a result of the outstanding leadership that Judge McMullen has provided to us. It is a huge honor to be elected. To serve on this court 25 years and that’s part of it because usually we lean toward the senior most judge, if that judge is willing to serve and can do a good job, So, apparently these other 11 think I can do it okay so I will do my best.”

Judge McMullen said she knows the court is in good hands under Judge Wedemeyer’s leadership.

“He is probably one of the most loving, supportive, encouraging individuals that I know,” she said. “It goes back to when I was first appointed by Governor Bredesen. He was one of the first people to call me and congratulate me. He was also one of the first on the court to come to my investiture, which over time I realized how important that is because we don’t always get the chance to go to investitures, and he drove from Nashville before he even really knew me, I think, to be there and meet family. I thought that was just great. It speaks to who he is, what type of person he is.”

“We’ve become friends,” said Judge Wedemeyer. “We’re colleagues. It’s a mutual admiration going on here and I can’t think of a better honor than to be considered a leader of this group of judges. Honestly, a whole lot of leadership in my view is not required because every one of the judges on this court has the qualities of a leader. We’ve all become friends, even the newest judges.”

“He makes it easy. He makes it really easy for everyone on the court and I’m just happy he’s around,” said Judge McMullen I was happy to lean on him when I was presiding judge. He was always there to give sound advice and wisdom, so we’re in good shape. We’re in really good shape. I’m excited.”

Judge Wedemeyer is also known for his sense of humor.

“It’s from being around a long time and hearing stories, some jokes, but mostly stories of what actually happened,” he said. “Sometimes I might embellish them a little bit.”

“We see some of the darkest types of cases, so we have to have people like Judge Wedemeyer to lift our spirits because we are on a steady diet of that,” said Judge McMullen. “Whenever I get a call, and he is very good at this, ‘Want nothing. Just checking. How you doing?’ That’s his M.O. We get the murders, the child rapists, all the stuff that makes your heart break, but he makes sure we don’t go too far off the deep end. He’s really good at that.”

“One of my primary things, as I get older and see how the world is going, I’m hugely in favor of the judiciary being independent and strong and not political,” said Judge Wedemeyer. “To me it’s been rewarding on our court and other courts, all the courts in the state of Tennessee to see some good appointments of well-qualified people and I’m happy about that.”

Judge Wedemeyer officially assumes the role of presiding judge on August 1.