November 3, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Almost two years after first being appointed as one of the county’s three judicial commissioners, David Gash has resigned.
Applications to fill the vacancy can be obtained at the County Mayor’s Office. The application deadline is 3 p.m. on Friday, November 18. Resumes are preferred along with the application.
The County’s Judicial Committee will meet on Monday, November 21 to select an applicant to recommend to the full county commission for final approval.
During the regular monthly meeting on Monday, November 28, the county commission will make the one-year appointment and is expected to re-appoint the other two judicial commissioners, Tammy Ashburn and Joy Whitman to new one-year terms.
Duties of the Judicial commissioners include processing the following: Criminal summons for the general public; Orders of protections; signing all arrest warrants for the Smithville, Alexandria, and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Departments, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Edgar Evins State Park Rangers, and TWRA Officers; signing search warrants and search warrants for blood draws; signing Mittimus; setting bonds; speaking with every person who has been arrested; answering any and all calls from the public; and attending certification classes three days each year with no pay for hours attended.
Judicial Commissioners are subject to call at all hours of the day and night when on duty. Only one judicial commissioner works at a time during a one-week period on call for 168 hours. They rotate their weeks one week on duty and two weeks off.
The county commission has the sole authority in appointing judicial commissioners and terms may be from one to four years according to state law. For several years the county has had a judicial committee to vet and recommend applicants for appointment to the county commission. The committee is made up of Sheriff Patrick Ray, County Mayor Matt Adcock, Circuit Court Clerk Susan Martin, General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox, and Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong.
Each judicial commissioner is paid $14,900 per year.