PHIL HARBER

FOR

JUVENILE COURT JUDGE

* A WEEKLY E-MAIL NEWSLETTER FROM THE
CAMPAIGN *
* DISTRIBUTED EXCLUSIVELY BY E-MAIL *
*VOLUME I, JANUARY 22, 2010 *
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WE REQUEST THAT YOU FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER TO EVERYONE

ON YOUR MAILING LIST. WE WANT CIRCULATION TO SOAR. YOUR
ASSISTANCE WILL MAKE THE POSSIBLE.
PHIL HAS SELECTED THEODORE F. “TED” DAVIS, JR., CPA, AS HIS
CAMPAIGN TREASURER. PHIL IS NOT ALLOWED TO PERSONALLY
SOLICIT CAMPAIGN FUNDS OR PERSONALLY ACCEPT CAMPAIGN FUNDS.
PHIL REQUESTS THAT ALL INQUIRIES CONCERNING CAMPAIGN
FINANCES BE DIRECTED TO TED AT 865-457-1040.
THE ELECTION IS JUST 195 DAYS AWAY. WE WILL BE BUSY EVERY DAY.
A CAMPAIGN ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS BEING FORMED. IF YOU WOULD
LIKE TO SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE, OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO
VOLUNTEER TO HELP PHIL IN ANY WAY, PLEASE CONTACT PHIL OR TED.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

THE ISSUE
What is the main issue for the selection of a new Juvenile Judge? Why should
voters care about the election?
The Anderson County Juvenile Court has been in operation many years. In 1987,
when former Judge Jennings Meredith presided over Juvenile Court as one of his duties as
the then Trial Justice Court Judge, he appointed attorney Pat Hess to be his referee. In
1991, the permanent position of Juvenile Court Judge was created, and Pat Hess was
selected by the Anderson County Commission to fill it.
Hess remained in office until September 1, 2006, when she was replaced by April
Meldrum, who upset Hess in the 2006 general election. Meldrum defeated Hess by
pointing out the dissatisfaction that the local bar and voters had with Hess. She won
handily.
According to recent news releases from Meldrum, the caseload was around 1,800
cases per year when she became judge, and when she quit holding court in December,
2009[1], the caseload was over 5,500 cases per year.
When she took office, Meldrum immediately began to take children into state
custody, and she accelerated her removal rate until she reached four times the state
average. Anderson County was overwhelmed with children.
When she quit, Meldrum blamed the State of Tennessee for not supporting her.
The implication was that she had saved all these children and that the State was being
negligent by not fully supporting her actions.
When Meldrum took office, attorneys who had practiced in Juvenile Court for
years left. Hearings scheduled for 9:00 a.m. were not being heard until late in the
afternoon, and then the hearings were not well conducted. Meldrum was out of control.
Meldrum was not competent to be judge.
The Anderson County Juvenile Court is a cluster of confusion. Lawyers with
limited experience dominate the appointed list. Perhaps too many lawyers in the Juvenile
Court could be characterized as “on the job trainees.”
The Juvenile Court has no organization.[2] It is out of control. Meldrum used
numerous “magistrates” to help her hear all the cases that were in the Juvenile Court. [3]
Why? Because she could not keep up with all the cases she was creating by removing
children at four times the average in Tennessee counties.[4]
The Tennessee General Assembly creates the laws that Juvenile Court Judges
follow. They have foreseen the possibility that conditions may exist that justify a child
being brought into state custody. If any of those conditions are believed to exist by a DCS
worker or even a private citizen, then the matter may be brought before the Juvenile Court.
The judge must hear a certain amount of evidence (the standard of proof) before taking
action, and that action can be a wide choice of actions, not just putting a child into state
custody.
For purposes of this explanation, assume that a juvenile judge must hear a foot
(twelve inches) of evidence to act. Meldrum was acting on an inch of evidence. Thus, too
many children are in state custody from Anderson County. Look at it another way, with a
sports analogy. An umpire calls balls and strikes. The strike zone is defined by the rules,
not by the umpire. Meldrum, however, defined her own strike zone. Anything near home
plate was a strike, and one strike was an out. Get the picture?
The ISSUE:
 DO THE VOTERS WANT THE CURRENT COURSE OF
THE JUVENILE COURT TO CONTINUE, OR DO
THEY WANT A NEW DIRECTION?
The State of Tennessee has threatened to impose a great financial burden on
Anderson County because so many children have been taken into state custody in Anderson
County. If change does not occur, and if the Juvenile Court is not taken in a new direction,
then catastrophe is just ahead.
Eight local attorneys expressed an interest in serving as the interim juvenile judge
and applied to fill out the interim period from January 19 to August 31, 2010. The
Anderson County Commission appointed a “committee” to interview those applicants and
to recommend someone to the full commission to fill the juvenile judge position through
August 31, 2010. Six liberal democrats who support the current path of the court comprised
that committee. They selected the youngest of the eight applicants, the most liberal, and the
one who ranked seventh in experience. Only two true Republicans (conservatives) applied,
and they were given a political slam dunk and rated seventh and eighth.
Of the applicants who expressed interest in the interim position, only Phil Harber
said that he would take the Anderson County Juvenile Court in a new direction. Only Phil
Harber has a plan for a new direction. The rest of the applicants would only take the court
on farther down the path to chaos and disaster.
In the weeks and months ahead, this newsletter will discuss where Anderson
County is headed and why Phil Harber is the best choice for Anderson County Juvenile
Judge, and is, in fact, the only choice who can save the court.
Please become informed about what is going on in the Anderson County
Juvenile Court. Ask your friends and neighbors. Ask local attorneys. Ask the
families who have been impacted by over twenty years of Hess and Meldrum,
especially Meldrum. Most importantly, vote.

PHIL HARBER IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE

QUALIFIED TO RUN IN THE AUGUST 5 ELECTION.
PHIL QUALIFIED AS AN INDEPENDENT BECAUSE
CHILDREN ARE NOT DEMOCRATS OR
REPUBLICANS. IN THE COMING WEEKS, ONE
OTHER CANDIDATE, THE NOMINEE OF THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY, SHOULD FILE HIS
QUALIFYING PAPERS. THE DEMOCRATS WILL
PROBABLY ALSO SELECT A NOMINEE SOON,
CERTAIN TO BE A LIBERAL IN LOCK STEP WITH
THE CURRENT JUVENILE COURT OPERATION.
[1] She publicly announced her resignation on December 21, 2009, effective at 8:00 a.m., January 19,
2010. To the best of our knowledge, she did not work those last 29 days.
[2] Okay, we concede that in a technical sense that it does have an organization, but it does not work
well, and often not at all.
[3] The Juvenile Judge is allowed to appoint magistrates in certain instances. Several local attorneys
and at least one Knox County attorney have served.
[4] In 2007, a new child support referee position was created under the Chancery Court. That referee now hears all the
child support cases that were formerly in the juvenile court. Therefore, Meldrum’s caseload could have been decreased if
not for all the children she took into state custody.