Bredesen Appoints Hurd Circuit Court Judge

 

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen today appointed Rhynette Northcross Hurd of Collierville, Tenn., to the Tennessee Circuit Court for the 30th Judicial District, Division VIII. Hurd will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge D’Army Bailey, who retired last year after 19 years on the bench. Hurd may stand for election in August to complete Bailey’s term, which expires in 2014.

 

“Rhynette Hurd has developed a wide range of skills in several substantive areas of the law, and I am confident she will carry out her duties on the circuit court in the same thoughtful and professional manner in which she has practiced law in Tennessee for nearly 20 years,” said Bredesen. “I appreciate her willingness to serve the state of Tennessee in this capacity, and I also want to commend her predecessor D’Army Bailey for his years of service on the bench.”

 

Prior to her appointment to the circuit court, Hurd spent much of her legal career as in-house counsel at various corporations including Sedwick Claims Management Services, Inc., International Paper, and Accredo Health, Inc. She has also served several years as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and as an assistant to the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. From 2000 to 2008, she served as a member of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees.

 

“I am committed to public service and to improving the quality of life for Tennesseans,” Hurd said. “I have a deep respect for the law and believe in the ability of the judicial process to achieve fair resolution of disputes. I believe an impartial judge is essential to that end, and I know of no greater honor than to serve my state and my profession in this capacity. I thank Governor Bredesen for giving me this opportunity.”

 

Hurd obtained a bachelor’s degree in English Composition from Mount Holyoke College, a M.A.T. in African and African-American Literature and Sociology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Ph.D. in English Education from Vanderbilt University, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis. She is currently a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel and Parkway Gardens Presbyterian Church. She is married to Dr. William C. Hurd and has two sons.

 

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