Joseph A. "Woody" Woodruff

Circuit Court Judge, State of Tennessee, 21st Judicial District

Biography

Judge Woodruff has served as the Division I Circuit Judge of Tennessee’s 21st Judicial District since his election in 2014. The 21st is one of Tennessee’s busiest judicial districts and each judge sits as a chancellor, criminal and civil circuit court judge. Prior to redistricting in 2022, the 21st Judicial District had the largest ratio of population per judge of any of Tennessee’s 31 judicial districts. Today, the 21st remains in the top tier of that statistic. He was re-elected in 2022 without opposition.

Before becoming a judge, Woody was a partner in the litigation group at Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, where he represented clients in state and federal trial and appellate courtrooms in a nationwide practice focusing on the healthcare and financial services industries. From 2004 through 2007, he was the lead lawyer of the team representing the State of Tennessee in litigation against the Maddox Foundation. This bitter interstate legal battle concluded with a settlement returning $55 million to Tennessee reviving the charitable foundation originally established by Nashville philanthropists Dan and Margaret Maddox.

Woody began his legal career as an officer in the US Army JAG Corps. During his six years of active duty, he tried to verdict more than 100 contested cases involving military justice, administrative law and federal tort claims actions. In 1986, he successfully represented a military intelligence agent charged with financial crimes related to covert activities and stemming from a sweeping criminal investigation into the official actions of high-ranking commissioned officers. His client was the first defendant tried, and only defendant to be acquitted. Following active duty, Woody served as a JAG in the US Army Reserve and retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

He earned his JD degree in 1981 from the University of Alabama School of Law. In law school, he was the recipient of the Dean M. Leigh Harrison Award, the Hugo Black Award, and was a member of the Order of the Coif, among other honors. He has published scholarly articles in various legal periodicals, as well as newspaper columns and blogs on college football. He has been an adjunct professor at the Belmont University School of Law, and is an active member of the Tenn. John Marshall Chapter, American Inns of Court and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy.

Andrew M. Freiberg

Circuit Court Judge of the Tenth Judicial District, State of Tennessee

Biography

Judge Andrew Mark Freiberg is a Circuit Court Judge for criminal matters in the Tenth Judicial District in Tennessee, covering the counties of Bradley, McMinn, Monroe, and Polk. He was elected to the court in 2014 and was reelected to office in 2022.

Judge Freiberg received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Criminal Justice. He received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2004. From 2004-2011, he was a Prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Office, 10^th Judicial District, Tennessee, and from 2011-2014, prior to his election, he was a litigation attorney in a local law firm. He has also served part-time as an Adjunct Professor at Tennessee Wesleyan University.

As a judge, he has presided over criminal jurisdiction matters throughout Southeast Tennessee having adjudicated over eleven thousand felony jury trials, motion hearings and pleas involving the criminally accused. He has served with distinction as the presiding Judge for the Tenth Judicial Recovery Court, which is a judicially monitored, intensive out-patient treatment program for non-violent offenders seeking to overcome addiction and mental illness. He also founded a successful Mental Health Court rehabilitation program for the Tenth Judicial District serving the mentally ill convicted of non-violent offenses.

While attending law school at UT, Judge Freiberg met his wife, Crystal Freiberg, with whom he shares two amazing children, Archer and Berkley Freiberg. He is a member of First Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Tennessee where he has served as both President and Vice-President. He is also a member of the Federalist Society, Heritage Foundation, NRA, National Association of Drug Court Professionals, and Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks. He is also an avid sports fan and a fanatic of the Green Bay Packers and the Tennessee Vols.

Mary Wagner

Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court

Biography

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Mary L. Wagner of Memphis as Circuit Court Judge, Division VII, for the 30th Judicial District on October 24, 2016. Wagner was elected to this judgeship in August 2018.

“With her extensive background in Shelby County, Mary Wagner is well prepared for a seat on the circuit court in the 30th Judicial District,” Haslam said. “We are fortunate to have someone with her experience, and we are pleased to announce this appointment.”

Prior to her appointment Wagner practiced with the Memphis law firm Rice, Amundsen & Caperton PLLC, where she had a general civil litigation practice. While at the firm, she taught at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis from 2012-2014 as an adjunct professor, teaching second-year law students advanced skills in legal writing and oral advocacy and first-year students legal writing, research and analysis.

Before joining Rice, Amundsen & Caperton, Wagner practiced with a regional insurance defense firm. She served as a law clerk from 2009-2010 for Judge Steven Stafford of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, law clerk for Judge Robert L. Childers in the Shelby County Circuit Court from 2008-2009 and worked as an extern in 2008 with the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Tennessee. Wagner was a research assistant in 2007 for Prof. Andrew McClurg during law school.

Wagner received her law degree from the University of Memphis in 2009 graduating magna cum laude, 4th in her class. While in law school, Wagner served as a Notes Editor for the University of Memphis Law Review. She received a bachelor’s degree in 2006 from the University of Colorado, majoring in political science.

Throughout her career, Wagner has been active in the legal community. She is a member of the Tennessee, Mississippi and Memphis Bar Associations. She serves on various committees and board for these associations. In 2018, Wagner was elected as a Fellow of the Memphis Bar Foundation. Also, in 2018, Wagner was selected as one of the Twelve Most Outstanding Women, Honoring Women in the Judicial System by the Memphis Inter-Denominational Fellowship Inc. Wagner is also active in the Tennessee Judicial Conference, where she served as Secretary and currently serves on the Tennessee Pattern Jury Instruction Committee and Legislation Committee. Wagner is also a member of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association. In 2019, Wagner received the Chancellor Charles A. Round Memorial Award for Outstanding Judge of the Year from the Young Lawyers’ Division of the Memphis Bar Association.

Judge Wagner has also been appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court as special judge for the Tennessee Worker’s Compensation Appeals Panel and as a member of a Three-Judge panel in a constitutional case.

Hon. Joseph A. "Woody" Woodruff

Circuit Court Judge, State of Tennessee, 21st Judicial District

Panel 1: Matter of First Impression: The Constitution on the Front Lines

2026 Tennessee Chapters Conference

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Panel 1: Matter of First Impression: The Constitution on the Front Lines

2026 Tennessee Chapters Conference