The Tennessee Court of Appeals (in case citation, Tenn. Ct. App.) was created in 1925 by the Tennessee General Assembly as an intermediate appellate court to hear appeals in civil cases from the Tennessee state trial courts. Appeals of judgments made by the Court of Appeals may be made to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The Court has twelve judges who sit on three-judge panels. The Court is further divided into three sections, each with four judges, based around Tennessee's Grand Divisions: the Eastern Section based in Knoxville, the Middle Section based in Nashville, and the Western Section based in Jackson.
Judges are chosen via the Tennessee Plan: they are first nominated by the Governor and then must be confirmed or disapproved by the General Assembly. If the General Assembly is in session at the time of the nomination, it must then vote within 60 days of the nomination; if it is not in session, it must vote within 60 days of the convening of the next session. If no vote is taken within 60 days, the nominee is considered to have been confirmed by default. After the judge is confirmed, they face a retention election after each eight-year term.
If a vacancy occurs between election cycles (for example, if a judge dies or retires), the 11-member Tennessee Governor's Council for Judicial Appointments interviews applicants and recommends three candidates to the Governor. The Governor then appoints a new judge to serve in the interim period until the next August general election.
The twelve judges sitting on the Court are: