Circuit Court Judge, State of Tennessee, 21st Judicial District
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.
Judge, Tennessee 5th Judicial District, Blount County Circuit Court
David R. Duggan, Blount County circuit judge, is the author of the book, Alcoa: A Century in Words and Pictures. He also co-authored Alcoa and Maryville in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series. He is Alcoa city historian, a former Blount County Library board chair, and lay representative, a Sunday School teacher, and church historian at Alcoa First Methodist Church. He serves as lay leader of the MidSouth Annual Conference of the Global Methodist Church (GMC), and he is a member of the GMC’s global Ecumenical Relations Commission. He chaired the City of Alcoa’s 75th Anniversary and Centennial Committees. Named to the Daily Times Alumni Wall of Fame in 2010, he received the Blount Historic Trust Champion Award in 2015. He also received, in 2018, a Community History Award, and in 2022 an Award of Distinction, from the East Tennessee Historical Society. He is president and a director of the Faith and Family Coalition, Inc. He serves as a member of the executive committee of the Knoxville chapter of the Federalist Society. Duggan also serves on the Mr. P Foundation board. Alcoa High School’s lyceum is named in his honor.
Circuit Court Judge of the Tenth Judicial District, State of Tennessee
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, 10th 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.
Circuit Court Judge, State of Tennessee
A West Tennessee native, Judge Jimmy Turner graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Administration. He graduated from Nashville School of Law in 2011. As an attorney, his practice focused on criminal defense, domestic relations and personal injury litigation representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He also served as the City Attorney for Eagleville, Tennessee. In 2021, Judge Turner was appointed by Governor Bill Lee as Circuit Court Judge for the 16th Judicial District. He presides over a criminal docket. Judge Turner and his wife Erin reside in Lascassas, Tennessee with their two sons, Hudson and Harrison.
Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
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.
Welpton & Wise Professor of Law, University of Nebraska College of Law
Professor Rick Duncan is the Welpton & Wise Professor of Law at the University Of Nebraska College Of Law. He is a graduate of the Cornell Law School and served as an editor of the Cornell Law Review. He teaches Constitutional Law with a special emphasis on the law of religious freedom, free speech, and federalism. Duncan has written numerous books, articles, and commentaries on a wide variety of legal topics. His recent publications include an article on Justice Scalia’s legacy, another on Kermit Gosnell and Roe v. Wade, a piece on the Electoral College and Federalism, a 2019 piece on Masterpiece Cakeshop and the First Amendment, and three recent articles on the “no compelled speech” doctrine as a First Amendment defense against authoritarianism and tyranny. His most recent article, on School Choice and the First Amendment, will be published in 2023 in Case Western Law Review. He is also the co-author of a book on Secured Transactions under Article 9 of the UCC. He served as Chairman of the Nebraska Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during the Reagan Administration. He also loves to speak at Federalist Society meetings around the country on life, liberty, and the pursuit of federalism.
Duncan has five children, five grandchildren, and a wonderful wife who help him pursue happiness. He loves lifting weights (particularly going heavy on the incline bench press), attending Broadway musicals and plays, including Hamilton: An American Musical which he has seen 12 times (possibly a Nebraska record). He regularly reads both the Bible and the New York Times because it is important to keep up with what both sides have to say. He loves following major league baseball, especially the San Diego Padres. And his favorite legal aphorism is “first come rights then comes government to secure those rights.”
Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Joshua Kleinfeld teaches and writes about political, legal, and moral philosophy, criminal law, and criminal procedure. He also practices law in Northwestern's Juvenile Criminal Defense Clinic. He is a full professor with tenure at the Northwestern Pritzker School of the Law and (by courtesy) in Northwestern’s philosophy department. In 2017-18, he was a visiting professor at Harvard and Stanford Law Schools. He is the recipient of the Bator Award, given annually to one American law professor under the age of 40 who has demonstrated "excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact."
In philosophy, Kleinfeld's research focuses on the idea of "embodied ethical life," as developed in the socio-theoretic tradition of Hegel, Weber, and Durkheim. This tradition aims to understand and critique social life by bringing to light the normative ideas implicit in social practices and institutions. In law, this means that the most interesting philosophical concepts are often those reflected or actualized in legal practice – in the law as judges and lawyers think of it and wield it.
In criminal law and procedure, Kleinfeld has developed a theory known as "reconstructivism," which holds that the chief office of criminal law is not to dole out retributive justice, nor to optimize crime and cost control, but to reconstruct a violated normative order in the wake of a crime. This work, which draws on the thought of Hegel, Durkheim, Jean Hampton, and Antony Duff, develops an alternative to retributive and utilitarian theories of criminal law by focusing on the distinctive social function and sense of justice at work in the criminal system.
Kleinfeld is also involved in practical criminal justice reform. In this vein, he defends children accused of homicide in the Northwestern Juvenile Criminal Defense clinic and assists in litigation efforts meant to reform American criminal law through the courts. He has also developed a view of criminal justice reform known as "democratization," which holds that the root of the American criminal justice crisis is a set of bureaucratic attitudes, structures, and incentives divorced from the American public’s concerns and sense of justice, and that the primary solution is to make criminal justice more community-focused and responsive to lay influences. Working with others, he has developed a number of policy proposals meant to reform American criminal justice in a democratic direction.
Kleinfeld holds a JD from Yale Law School, a PhD in philosophy from the Goethe University of Frankfurt (supervised by Axel Honneth, Klaus Günther, and Rainer Forst), and a BA in philosophy from Yale College. He clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; Judge Janice Rogers Brown on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and President (chief justice) Aharon Barak of the Supreme Court of Israel. He worked as an Associate at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in Frankfurt, Germany, in the area of corporate criminal law. Before law school, he worked as a Senior Research Analyst at the White House’s Council on Bioethics.
Partner and Co-Chair, Public Policy Group, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Mark Behrens co-chairs Shook's Washington, DC-based Public Policy Practice Group and is a leading national expert on civil justice issues with over thirty years of experience. A substantial part of his practice is working to improve the civil litigation environment through state and federal legislation; in the courts through amicus curiae briefs; through legal scholarship and judicial education; and in the court of public opinion.
Mark is actively involved in civil justice reform efforts at the federal and state levels. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures on behalf of business and civil justice organizations. Mark also has an active amicus brief practice specializing in tort liability and civil justice issues. He has authored or co-authored over 150 amicus briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations. In addition, Mark routinely files comments on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations regarding potential changes to federal and state court rules. He chairs the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) Civil Justice Response Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ).
Mark is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). He received his J.D. in 1990 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1987.
Assemblyman, Nevada State Assembly
Erven T. Nelson represents Assembly District 5 in the Nevada Assembly. Previously, he was a partner at Durham, Jones & Pinegar where he specialized in real estate and business law. Erv has deep roots in this community, moving to Las Vegas as a child. As a boy and teenager he was involved in little league, Boy Scouts, church activities, water sports at Lake Mead and skiing at Lee Canyon.
After graduating from Clark High School, Erv served a two-year mission for his church in Tokyo, Japan. When he returned from japan, Erv entered BYU where he met and married his wife, Lisa. Erv went on to study law at BYU graduating with honors in 1983. The Nelsons returned to Las Vegas in 1987 moving to the Lakes area where they continue to raise thier 7 children. Erv has been active in the community in many volunteer and leadership positions.
Managing Shareholder, Saltzman Mugan Dushoff, PLLC
Over the course of his twenty-plus years as an attorney in Las Vegas, Mr. Saltzman has developed a corporate law practice focused on financial institution and liquor law. He assists businesses in their formation, licensing and governance matters; he also counsels businesses on corporate mergers and acquisition matters. He assists highly regulated financial institutions and captive insurance companies in corporate and regulatory compliance matters and he has testified before the Nevada legislature as an expert on trust company legislation and drafted portions of Nevada law relating to the chartering and operation of Nevada trust companies. He has counseled trust companies and financial service firms on Blockchain and cryptocurrency related legal compliance matters.
Mr. Saltzman has developed and managed the firm’s liquor law practice into Nevada’s largest alcohol beverage specialty law practice group. He and his team of attorneys and paralegals assist a wide range of liquor retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in licensing and compliance matters in all Nevada jurisdictions. More information on Mr. Saltzman’s liquor law practice can be found at his blog: www.nvliquorlaw.com
Matthew Saltzman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Philosophy from University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1987. In 1993, he received his Juris Doctor from University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was also Executive Editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review and served as teaching assistant for the Legal Research and Writing course.
Emeritus Dean and Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School
Professor Huffman joined the law school faculty in 1973, was appointed Acting Dean in 1993 and Dean in 1994, and returned to full time teaching in 2006. Born in Fort Benton, Montana, Jim graduated from Montana State University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and the University of Chicago Law School. He has been a visiting professor at Auckland University in New Zealand, the University of Oregon, the University of Athens in Greece and Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. He was also a fellow at the Humane Studies Institute and a Distinguished Bradley Scholar at the Heritage Foundation. Jim serves on the boards of the National Crime Victims Law Institute, the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, the Classroom Law Project, and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. He is a member and former Chair of the Executive Committee of the Environment and Property Rights Practice Group of the Federalist Society. He is a member of the Montana Bar Association and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He is the author of more than 100 articles and chapters on a wide array of legal topics.
Emeritus Dean and Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School
Professor Huffman joined the law school faculty in 1973, was appointed Acting Dean in 1993 and Dean in 1994, and returned to full time teaching in 2006. Born in Fort Benton, Montana, Jim graduated from Montana State University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and the University of Chicago Law School. He has been a visiting professor at Auckland University in New Zealand, the University of Oregon, the University of Athens in Greece and Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. He was also a fellow at the Humane Studies Institute and a Distinguished Bradley Scholar at the Heritage Foundation. Jim serves on the boards of the National Crime Victims Law Institute, the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, the Classroom Law Project, and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. He is a member and former Chair of the Executive Committee of the Environment and Property Rights Practice Group of the Federalist Society. He is a member of the Montana Bar Association and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He is the author of more than 100 articles and chapters on a wide array of legal topics.
Partner and Co-Chair, Public Policy Group, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Mark Behrens co-chairs Shook's Washington, DC-based Public Policy Practice Group and is a leading national expert on civil justice issues with over thirty years of experience. A substantial part of his practice is working to improve the civil litigation environment through state and federal legislation; in the courts through amicus curiae briefs; through legal scholarship and judicial education; and in the court of public opinion.
Mark is actively involved in civil justice reform efforts at the federal and state levels. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures on behalf of business and civil justice organizations. Mark also has an active amicus brief practice specializing in tort liability and civil justice issues. He has authored or co-authored over 150 amicus briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations. In addition, Mark routinely files comments on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations regarding potential changes to federal and state court rules. He chairs the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) Civil Justice Response Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ).
Mark is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). He received his J.D. in 1990 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1987.
Assemblyman, Nevada State Assembly
Erven T. Nelson represents Assembly District 5 in the Nevada Assembly. Previously, he was a partner at Durham, Jones & Pinegar where he specialized in real estate and business law. Erv has deep roots in this community, moving to Las Vegas as a child. As a boy and teenager he was involved in little league, Boy Scouts, church activities, water sports at Lake Mead and skiing at Lee Canyon.
After graduating from Clark High School, Erv served a two-year mission for his church in Tokyo, Japan. When he returned from japan, Erv entered BYU where he met and married his wife, Lisa. Erv went on to study law at BYU graduating with honors in 1983. The Nelsons returned to Las Vegas in 1987 moving to the Lakes area where they continue to raise thier 7 children. Erv has been active in the community in many volunteer and leadership positions.
Managing Shareholder, Saltzman Mugan Dushoff, PLLC
Over the course of his twenty-plus years as an attorney in Las Vegas, Mr. Saltzman has developed a corporate law practice focused on financial institution and liquor law. He assists businesses in their formation, licensing and governance matters; he also counsels businesses on corporate mergers and acquisition matters. He assists highly regulated financial institutions and captive insurance companies in corporate and regulatory compliance matters and he has testified before the Nevada legislature as an expert on trust company legislation and drafted portions of Nevada law relating to the chartering and operation of Nevada trust companies. He has counseled trust companies and financial service firms on Blockchain and cryptocurrency related legal compliance matters.
Mr. Saltzman has developed and managed the firm’s liquor law practice into Nevada’s largest alcohol beverage specialty law practice group. He and his team of attorneys and paralegals assist a wide range of liquor retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in licensing and compliance matters in all Nevada jurisdictions. More information on Mr. Saltzman’s liquor law practice can be found at his blog: www.nvliquorlaw.com
Matthew Saltzman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Philosophy from University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1987. In 1993, he received his Juris Doctor from University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was also Executive Editor of the University of Pittsburgh Law Review and served as teaching assistant for the Legal Research and Writing course.
Managing Attorney of the Washington Office, Institute for Justice
William R. Maurer is the Managing Attorney of the Washington state office of the Institute for Justice, which engages in litigation in the areas of economic liberty, private property rights, educational choice, & freedom of speech.
Maurer is an advocate against the criminalization of poverty and the governmental use of the criminal and civil enforcement systems to raise revenue. He was lead counsel in a class action challenging the use of tickets to raise revenue in the city of Pagedale, Missouri. The suit resulted in a federal consent decree that reformed the city’s ticketing and municipal court system. He regularly speaks, teaches, and writes about the abuse of fines and fees in the criminal justice system. He was a participant in summits on taxation by citation put on by the White House and Department of Justice during the Obama Administration. His work on the issue includes serving as an advisory board member of the Fines and Fees Justice Center.
In addition to his work on criminal and civil justice reform, Maurer is a First Amendment litigator. In 2011, he successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that Arizona’s punitive campaign financing regime was unconstitutional. Before the Washington Supreme Court, he successfully argued against efforts to classify radio commentary as a contribution under the state’s campaign finance law.
His cases and advocacy have been covered in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and other major media outlets.
Maurer was named a “Washington Superlawyer” by Washington Law & Politics Magazine for several years. He is a chapter author in numerous legal reference works and has written several articles for law reviews and legal publications across the country.
Prior to joining IJ-WA, Maurer clerked for Washington Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders and then practiced law at Perkins Coie LLP. Maurer received his law degree in 1994 from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he was an editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. He received his BA from Bard College in 1989.
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