Candidates speak out in Oak Ridge forum
Candidates James W. Brooks, Daniel Forrester, Evan Hauser and Roger Miller are run- ning for Anderson County chancellor in the Republican Party primary. They spoke at this forum held by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge. (photo:Ben Pounds )
The chancellor is a judge who hears cases at the Chancery Court, which handles divorces, other family law, equity, conservatorship, probate, wills and estates, and boundary and property disputes.
Incumbent James W. Brooks said the court, which does not have a jury, hears all the divorces filed in the county, and some orders of protection.
No Democrats or independents are running, meaning the primary will likely decide the chancellor. The early voting period is Feb. 14-27. The last day to send in an absentee ballot is Feb. 27. Election day is March 5. Brooks and challengers Daniel Forrester, Evan Hauser and Roger Miller recently spoke to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge at a lunchtime forum. All the candidates stressed at the forum that they will not discriminate based on political beliefs if elected.
Brooks
Gov. Bill Lee appointed Brooks on April 18, 2023, following predecessor Nicolle Cantrell’s resignation.
He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1985 and went to work for a law firm in Wartburg before practicing alone after his partner retired. He has lived in Oak Ridge since 1987.
Even before becoming chancellor, he practiced for 37 years working on what he called “traditional Chancery Court matters” in Anderson, Scott and Morgan counties and “all around.”
“We handle these private personal matters, which I call matters of the heart,” he said regarding Chancery Court cases such as custody and wills.
Brooks said the ability to find an attorney for rural people could be difficult, but that the court tries it best to shepherd people through the process and make it accessible, including through its forms. He said electronic filing when available will also help.
Forrester
Forrester lives in Andersonville and has practiced as an attorney in the county for 18 years. He has practiced in the Knoxville area since 2005, mostly out of an office in Clinton. He said his practice has focused on family law, which is much of the Chancery Court’s docket.
“I’ve handled thousands of Chancery Court cases and many more than that if you count the entire county as well,” he said. “I have tried numerous divorces, adoptions, terminations, custody matters,[and] child support matters; that’s all I do.
“You are making daily decisions regarding people’s lives and their children’s, and you definitely have to have someone in there that has experience in handling those matters,” Forrester said.
“Rule No. 1 would be everyone gets treated fairly and respectfully.”
Forrester said hearings by Zoom could help with accessibility for rural residents. He said current divorce forms are complicated and don’t cover many situations.
Hauser
Hauser said he’s practiced law for 18 years. During the first half of that career, he was a trial lawyer with cases “from Chattanooga up to Kingsport.” He said he’d worked in Chancery Courts and handled divorces and child custody issues, along with litigation, employment law and juvenile court cases. More recently he’s worked in the Knoxville Law Director’s Office.
“The reason I decided to run for chancellor is that I feel like the issues decided there matter on a personal level,” he said. He said he and his wife are both on second marriages and have a blended family.
“I’d like to think that I know the challenges that kids and parents face going through that process,” he said. “I have stood in the shoes, not just as a lawyer in Chancery Court, but as a party, as a parent with children.”
Regarding rural citizens, he said he would like to assist with making sure they had access to the court and that it would be easy to understand how to navigate.
Miller
Miller is a lifelong Anderson County resident, born in Clinton with parents from Lake City. He has lived in Oak Ridge and Clinton. He attended Stanford Law School before practicing law in Anderson County. He’s been in the legal field for 25 years, most of which he said has been doing family law.
He served as General Sessions Court judge from 2014 until 2022. After that, he worked assigning and mentoring attorneys in family law and ethics at a firm.
“It tries to find answers that may not be black and white in the law sometimes,” Miller said regarding Chancery Court.
“This is a court that deals with emotions. I’m not sure that criminal court has the emotions that arise and that come to surface during a custody case,” he said.
“I felt very strongly about respecting all individuals that come before me. They all have the right to be heard,” he said.
He described Legal Aid as “amazing” at helping rural residents. He said he would like to work with Lincoln Memorial University to get more attorneys involved in the area to help more rural residents.
He also said he’d like to open access to the legal system to people who can’t afford to pay thousands in attorney fees by making forms more accessible.