JACKSON, Tenn. — Former Madison County General Sessions Judge Mark Patey has withdrawn his application to become Jackson City Judge, leaving four candidates for the Jackson City Council to consider when it votes on the appointment on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Mayor Scott Conger announced the withdrawal in a statement on Monday. “I was notified early this afternoon, they only have four applicants now Mr. Mark Patey respectfully withdrew his application for consideration, so the city council will then vote on appointment for the four remaining applicants,” Conger said.
Patey was one of five attorneys who applied for the city court judgeship and took part in open public interviews before the council at a special called meeting at city hall on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The other four candidates are Caroline Ballentine, an assistant public defender; J. Colin Morris, a Jackson-based attorney; Nathan Pride, an attorney and former circuit court judge; and Kortney Simmons, a family and civil defense attorney.
Patey’s application had raised a question the council had to sort out. On April 15 he was suspended from performing his duties as a General Sessions judge after a letter from Chancellor Jeffery Atherton said he was “suffering from mental health issues that substantially interfere with the prompt, orderly, and efficient performance” of his duties. WBBJ reported that the suspension stopped the city’s selection process while the council worked out whether he was eligible.
At the interviews, each applicant gave an opening and closing statement, and council members asked questions based on each person’s judicial philosophy, application and résumé. Conger said at the time that the process was one the council had established. He also said any additional documents the council needed would go through his office, so members would have what they needed to make an informed decision by this week.
Because the council is the appointing body, there was no public question period during the interviews. Public comments will be accepted at the next city council meeting, and the vote to fill the seat is also on that meeting’s agenda. Patey’s withdrawal means the council now chooses among Ballentine, Morris, Pride and Simmons.