Hon. Daniel R. Shoemaker ·Tennessee Court of Appeals · Eastern Section
Nine years on the bench.
Eighteen hundred opinions.
Zero reversed for legal error.
Tennessee's appellate dockets take eleven months to clear an oral argument. That isn't justice — that's geology. I'll bring trial-court speed to the Eastern Section, write opinions in plain English, and answer your questions in person, every quarter.
1,847
Written opinions authored
0
Reversed for legal error
3.2
Median weeks to opinion
§ I — Commitments
Three measurable, judge-side commitments. None of them require a vote of the legislature or anyone's permission. They require a sitting appellate judge willing to do the work — and willing to be measured.
01
Median time from oral argument to opinion in the Eastern Section is 11 months. That's not deliberation — it's a backlog. I'll commit, in writing, to a 6-month civil and 4-month criminal cap on every opinion I author, and publish my own running median monthly.
[ baseline ] Current Eastern Section median: 11 months
02
Litigants and the public should be able to read what a court decided without a J.D. Every opinion I author will lead with one paragraph in lay language, before the syllabus. The lawyers still get the legal text. Everyone else gets the answer.
[ baseline ] A one-paragraph summary on every published opinion
03
Once a quarter, in a different East Tennessee county, I'll hold a continuing-judicial-education session open to non-lawyers. We'll explain how appellate review actually works and take questions. No campaign speeches. No fundraising.
[ baseline ] Four counties per year · attendance public
§ II — The record
1,847
Written opinions authored
Knox County Circuit Court · Feb 2017 – present
0
Reversed for legal error
Of 184 appealed · per Tn. Court of Appeals records
3.2
Median weeks to opinion
From submission to filed order · 2024–2025
A
Tn. Bar Judicial Eval.
Knoxville Bar · 2024 retention rating · highest tier
[ Of record ]
Knox County Assistant District Attorney, 1995–2003 — tried 412 jury cases
[ Of record ]
Twelve years private practice, Frantz, McConnell & Seymour, Knoxville
[ Of record ]
B.A., University of Tennessee, 1991 · J.D., UT College of Law, 1994 — Order of the Coif
[ Of record ]
Tennessee bar, 1994 · Sixth Circuit, 1996 · Knoxville & Tennessee Bar Associations
§ III — On the record
The people whose endorsement actually means something — by name, by role.
[ Statement of support ]
“Dan Shoemaker writes opinions you can hand a litigant and trust them to understand. That sentence isn't faint praise — it's rare.”
Hon. Penny J. White
Retired Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
[ Statement of support ]
“I sat with him on a three-judge panel for a complex commercial appeal. Prepared. Fair. The kind of judge other judges learn from.”
Hon. Walter C. Kurtz
Retired Senior Judge, Tennessee Trial Courts
[ Statement of support ]
“When he ran a courtroom, my deputies knew exactly where they stood. Predictable. By the book. He's earned this seat.”
Sheriff J. Tom Spangler
Knox County Sheriff
[ Statement of support ]
“The bar's 2024 evaluation gave Judge Shoemaker the highest rating in seven years. The vote wasn't close.”
Wade Davies
Past President, Knoxville Bar Association
[ Statement of support ]
“I've practiced in front of him from both sides of the v. He doesn't have a thumb on the scale. That's the whole job.”
D. Whitney Reed
Managing Partner, Reed, Hartwell & Pruitt
[ Statement of support ]
“Dan understands the difference between speed and rush. The Eastern Section needs both.”
Hon. Mary Beth Leibowitz
Retired Knox County Criminal Court Judge
§ IV — About Hon.
East Tennessee residents deserve a court that answers in months, not years. Right now, after both sides argue their case, families wait close to a year for a written ruling. That is too long. Nine years on the bench, more than 1,800 cases ruled on in writing, not one overturned for getting the law wrong. Civil cases answered in under six months. Criminal under four. Counted. Posted. Held to.
Read the full record§ V — Recent statements
All news →Eleven months from oral argument to opinion is not deliberation. It is a workflow problem. The fix is not more judges — the fix is judges who write to a clock and publish their times.
If a litigant cannot read what the court decided, the court has not finished its work. A one-paragraph summary is not a dumbing-down — it is a finishing-up.
I am not running for this seat to make a political statement. I am running because the Eastern Section needs a working appellate judge.
Public schedule
Full schedule →May 21
Knoxville · UT College of Law · Room 132 · 6:30 PM ET
Jun 04
Chattanooga · Hamilton County Courthouse · 7:30 AM ET
Jun 12
Sevierville · Sevier County Courthouse · Civic Hall · 12:00 PM ET
Jun 20
Bristol · Tennessee Bar Association Eastern Section · 10:00 AM ET
§ VI — Where this campaign draws the line