The Honorable John T. Fowlkes Jr.
Judge of Criminal Court Division VI
30th Judicial District at Memphis, TN
On August 24th, 2007, Governor Phil Bredesen appointed John T. Fowlkes, Jr. to fill the vacancy on the Criminal Court Bench in Shelby County, Tennessee. On that day, he became the Judge of Division VI of Criminal Court. Criminal court judges conduct jury trials and hearings for all types of state felony and misdemeanor cases. This includes everything from capital murder cases to driving under the influence and everything in between.
Judge Fowlkes was Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton for five years before taking the bench. As CAO, he managed the day to day operations of the six major County Divisions and over 2,000 employees of Mayor AC Wharton’s Administration. This included Administration and Finance, Public Works, the Shelby County Health Department, the Shelby County Correctional Center, Community Services, and Planning and Development. He also managed Human Resources, Internal Audit, Grants Management, Total Quality Management and the Criminal Justice Coordination.
He was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Tennessee for thirteen years. He prosecuted a wide variety of crimes including corruption, money laundering, and organized narcotics and gang matters. Later, as First Assistant United States Attorney, he managed the day to day operations of the United States Attorney’s Office including all Civil, Criminal, Administrative and Financial sections. He also maintained communications with members of the judicial and legal communities. Nationally, Judge Fowlkes was an Instructor in the area of trial advocacy, and was an evaluator with the Department of Justice Executive Office for United States Attorneys.
Prior to his work with the Department of Justice, Judge Fowlkes served as an Assistant District Attorney General for the 30th Judicial District, Shelby County, Tennessee. As a State Prosecutor, he handled a wide variety of prosecutions, became the Director of the Child Sexual Abuse Unit, and was Advisor to the Sexual Assault Resource Center.
Judge Fowlkes received his law degree from the University of Denver, School of Law, 1977, and his Bachelors of Arts in History from Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, 1975. He is a member of the Memphis Bar Association and serves on the Board of Directors of the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association.
Judge Fowlkes is also involved in several community activities and has served on Boards of Director of Memphis Area Legal Services, Inc., Memphis in May International Festival, Memphis and Shelby County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Cook Convention Center, a member of The Economic Club Of Memphis, a member of The Optimist Club of Whitehaven, Tennessee, past Board of Directors of The National Civil Rights Museum, and a member of Cross of Calvary Lutheran Church.
Most importantly, Judge Fowlkes is married with two sons and three grandchildren, and has lived in Memphis since 1977.
| 
