Tougher than she looks

Atty. LaTonya Sue Burrow says she is “intolerant of injustice.”  And, this is her second bid for Criminal Court Division VI.

 In the 2006 election, Burrow amassed nearly 55,000 votes against Judge Fred Axley, who retired shortly thereafter with 24 years on the bench.

“Hopefully they (voters) will remember me from 2006, because I’m the only one who challenged Judge Axley in 24 years,” said Burrow, 44. “Nobody had challenged him.”

During a political forum at LeMoyne Owen College in May, Atty. LaTonya Sue Burrow explained why she’s the best choice for Criminal Court Division VI.

She said she’ll do better the second time around because “people know who I am now, because I’m the only female in the race, because the incumbent (Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr.) has been seated for only 10 months, and because I learned a lot from the first campaign.”

Standing 4 feet, 11 inches and weighing 115 pounds, Burrow said she’s more than enough woman to beat Fowlkes and two other challengers — attorneys Michael G. Floyd and Claiborne H. Ferguson.

“I’m tougher than I look,” said Burrow, who handles capital murder cases for the Shelby County Public Defender’s Office. “I’m in a race with three men and I’m tougher than all of them put together.”

Burrow said she has the wherewithal to be the judge. And in her opinion, “the criminal court judge should be elected by a majority rather than selected by a few or by one.”

That reference is a potshot at Judge Fowlkes, whom Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed to fill the vacancy left by Judge Axley’s resignation.   “What has the incumbent done for us lately?” asked Burrow, who has practiced more than 14 years in Criminal Court.

“I’m ready for the job,” she said. “I’ve been practicing law every day. And I plan to make a difference.”

If elected, Burrow said she’d start a program in the courtroom for at-risk teenagers who are troubled-prone. “People who are incarcerated,” she said, “will get a chance to meet at-risk teenagers to guide them in the right direction.”

This is a form of community service, Burrow explained. “It wouldn’t cost anything. If they see inmates in orange jumpsuits handcuffed and shackled to a chair, it could change their outlook on committing crimes.”

She also takes community service to heart and believes a judge should be fair and unbiased. “You do not have the right to stand in judgment of citizens, unless you have worked to prevent them from coming into the system,” the public defender said.

Burrow earned her B.A. degree from Rhodes College. She is a graduate of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, where she received her Juris Doctorate.

Ushering in new ideals

He calls himself the Memphis DUI lawyer, but Atty. Claiborne H. Ferguson wouldn’t mind being called the judge of Criminal Court Division VI. If he’s elected Aug. 7, he said he’d usher in new ideals.

“I feel I’m the better candidate with new ideals,” said Ferguson of Ferguson/Sargent Law Firm in Downtown Memphis. “I got a better and innovative approach to what needs to be done in the community.”

“We all got plans, but who’s got the best ideals?” Atty. Claiborne H. Ferguson asked. The candidate who calls himself the Memphis DUI lawyer said he would start a Health Court if the voters elect him to the bench.

Having started his law practice in 2000, Ferguson said he sees a real need for a “Health Court” to address the problems of drug addiction in the Criminal Court system. “We need change and I’ve got the experience to do that,” he said.

A former board member of the Shelby County Drug Court Support Foundation, Ferguson said a Health Court is needed to save the petty drug user from becoming a total wretch and threat to society.

He said he’s the only person who has ever suggested pushing it through Criminal Court. “It’s critical that we deal with the issues that are important to Shelby County,” he said. “If not, we’re not doing the defendants any good, the city any good, and the county any good.”

While Ferguson is passionate about health issues, he is proud of his track record as a criminal defense attorney. He said if voters send him to Division 6, “I would put the energy and the zeal into the job that I put into all my cases.”

There are a few high-profile cases that Ferguson doesn’t mind talking about. “I’m representing Dexter Cox,” he said. Cox, 18, is accused of killing Memphis police officer Ed Vidulich and implicated in the killings of two others. The case is still pending.

Ferguson also represented Winfred Scott, a Top 10 Most Wanted fugitive accused of rape of a child. Scott fled Memphis in 2005 and was later apprehended in Missouri.

Former state senator Katherine Bowers was also one of Ferguson’s high-profile clients. She was charged with DUI, but the DUI attorney got her case dropped.

Ferguson’s challengers also tout their accomplishments and experiences. He said they may be good lawyers, but what are they doing for the community?

“We all got plans, but who’s got the best ideals?” Ferguson asked. “You shouldn’t look at the candidates for what they’ve done in the past, but what they’ll do in the future.”

Although the 38-year-old attorney is younger than his opponents and has fewer years as a litigator, he said indirectly that age is not a prerequisite for the judgeship.

“I spend 10 to 12 hours a day practicing law,” said Ferguson, which doesn’t give him much visibility on the campaign trail. “I don’t have as much time as my opponents do. They work for the country.”

Ferguson, a 1992 graduate of Rhodes College, received his Juris Doctorate at Mississippi College School of Law. He and his wife LeAnna and their three children live in Lucy, an unincorporated area of Shelby County near Millington.   

He always wanted to be a judge

When Atty. Michael G. Floyd first came to Memphis in 1973 on a track scholarship to LeMoyne Owen College, he already knew he wanted to do something special.

He transferred to Tennessee State University in Nashville, matriculated, and then earned his Juris Doctorate in 1982 from North Carolina Central University Law School in Durham, N.C.

With three challengers in the Criminal Court Division VI race, including an incumbent, Atty. Michael B. Floyd said during a political forum in May that he has no problem saying he’s better than either one.

That something special was still nagging at him. It became crystal clear that he wanted to be a judge. “When we were at Tennessee State together, I talked about being a judge then,” said Floyd, who shared his thoughts with his girlfriend and soon-to-be wife, June Alice.

After successfully practicing law in Philadelphia, Floyd returned to Memphis in 2000 and again in 2004 to stay. “It took me four years to wrap up my cases in Philadelphia,” he said.

When it was time for candidates to file their petitions for the Aug. 7 state and federal primary elections, Floyd said he was the first candidate to file for the judgeship of Criminal Court Division VI.

With three challengers, including an incumbent, in the race, Floyd said the voters shouldn’t be concerned about whom the governor appointed but who can convey their message.

“I always was of the opinion that democracy is competition,” said Floyd, a Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court attorney. “People should have a choice.”

Floyd, 52, hopes he is the voters’ choice. “I’m the only candidate in this race who’s tried cases 24 years consecutively,” he said. “I’ve been a trial attorney my entire career. And I bring a work ethic with me.”

He also said he’d be just as compassionate and firm as a judge as he is as an attorney. “I understand how people deserve to be treated,” he said. “I know the inside of a courtroom and I’m ready to go to the bench.”

The justice system can impact a person’s life, said Floyd, illustrating the case of a young woman convicted of manslaughter who didn’t understand her sentence.   

“The judge gave her 60 to 120 months,” Floyd said, “and this young woman whispered in my ears and said ‘How much time did I get?’ It didn’t hit me until later when I met the girl’s mother. She thanked me for helping her daughter.”

So if you’re looking for experience in a criminal court judge, Floyd said he has a wealth of experience from criminal law to medical malpractice to employment discrimination to personal injury cases.

“I have no problem saying I’m the best,” he said. “One of the first things I’d do is to influence the legislature to help children. And I want to have high visibility.”

On the campaign trail, Floyd is making his rounds to candidate forums. He is trying to appeal to the voters who could make his dream come true. “I will need about 25,000 votes to get me there,” he said.

Making an impression

After Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed him to fill a vacancy in Criminal Court Division VI, Atty. John T. Fowlkes Jr. donned a black robe and began looking for ways to whittle down the court’s large caseload.

“You want to assess the situation when you first get on the bench. And we put a substantial dent in the caseload,” said Fowlkes, who got the nod in August 2007 to replace retiring Judge Fred Axley. “We cut the number of defendants down from nearly 2,000 cases to around 1,300.”

After serving one year on the bench in Criminal Court Division VI, and with his background in criminal law, appointed Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. said, “I’ll match my qualification and experience with anyone.”

With upcoming state and federal primary elections on Aug. 7 less than one month away, Fowlkes believes he’s made a strong impression and hopes voters will return him to the bench.

He said he truly enjoys the job and working with lawyers. However, attorneys LaTonya Sue Burrow, Michael G. Floyd and Claiborne H. Ferguson are challenging him for the judgeship.

“I think my qualifications are one of the best for this job. I’ll match my qualification and experience with anyone,” said Fowlkes, who conducts jury trials and hearings from capital murder to state felonies to misdemeanors.

Incumbency has its advantages, but Fowlkes understands a return to the bench depends on how well he can convey his experience on the bench and whether voters will be accepting.

His yard signs can be seen dotting the urban landscape of Memphis — on busy street corners, in front of businesses and on the front lawn of residents’ homes.

But Fowlkes is counting on his relative short tenure on the bench and his prior experience as a trial lawyer to convince voters that he is the better candidate. “There’s no surprise there,” he said matter-of-factly.

Formerly chief administrative officer for Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton, Fowlkes managed the county’s six major county divisions. He also served 13 years as an assistant United States attorney in the Western District of Tennessee.

His prosecutorial duties included a number of crimes: public corruption, money laundering, organized narcotics and gang matters. He also served as a First Assistant United States Attorney.

On the national level, Fowlkes was a trial advocacy instructor and an evaluator with the Department of Justice Executive Office for United States Attorneys.

His resume also listed work with the DOJ as an assistant district attorney general for the 30th Judicial District of Shelby County Tennessee, and as a state prosecutor handling a number of cases.

“A judge should teach and educate,” said Fowlkes, 57. “Just courtroom experience is not enough. I have a sum total experience that I bring to the table.”

Fowlkes has been married to Michelle Fowlkes for 36 years. They have two adult sons and three grandchildren.