“The unique combination of administrative and legal experience that John Fowlkes brings to the bench will serve the criminal court in Shelby County extremely well,” said Bredesen. “As a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney General’s Office, John developed a vast knowledge and respect for our judicial system. In his current position, he led the development of the Shelby County Ethics Code instituted by Mayor AC Wharton. He will bring to the bench the respect and confidence of all those who know him, and I want to thank him for his willingness to serve the state in this position.” - Governor Phil Bredesen (08/09/2007)

“When I took office, all of you know what we were faced with,” Wharton told the County Commission.  “I thought long and hard about who I would ask to come in and hold a position which is, in effect, vice mayor for the county.  . . . .There were any number of individuals in the political arena I could have asked.  I wanted someone whose very stature stood for what was right, what was proper, and was ethical.  . . . . (Fowlkes) never, never, never let us down.”  County Mayor A C Wharton (The Daily News 09/2007)

“In the Republic, Plato suggested that justice, as a virtue, ultimately resides in people through their inherent qualities, upbringing and education. John Fowlkes is as fine a man in the legal profession as any I have known over my long years in trial work. He is conscientious and you can take his word to the bank.  Never have I heard anyone criticize John’s professionalism or his diligence in performing any legal task. He is fair minded, articulate, intelligent and incisive in his thinking. More than anything else, he is a man of total and unqualified integrity. In short, he is, in this writer’s opinion, the embodiment of Plato’s concept of the just person.”- David Wade, Martin, Tate, Morrow, & Marston, P.C.