Commission appoints Taylor Bachelor to fill Shelby County General Sessions Court vacancy

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted to appoint Taylor Bachelor as judge for Shelby County General Sessions Court Division 7, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Bill Anderson.

The appointment follows a roll-call nomination and voting process required under the commission’s Rule 35. Commissioners took nominations from the floor and then conducted successive roll-call votes; Bachelor won the final round of voting and the commission accepted the selection by acclamation.

The process began with the commission chair reading Rule 35 and calling for nominations; multiple candidates were nominated in the roll call, including John Marshall, Reagan Fondren, Catherine Mozingo, Michelle Alexander Best and others. After rounds of votes narrowed the field, the final contest narrowed to Taylor Bachelor and Reagan Fondren. The clerk recorded the final tally in favor of Bachelor. The commission then notified the public and invited the nominee to speak.

Taylor Bachelor, who delivered brief remarks to the commission, said she was “humbled by today’s decision” and thanked the commissioners and supporters who were present. The commission’s roll-call tally, as recorded in the meeting minutes, showed a majority for Bachelor in the decisive round and the body moved to the appointment by acclamation.

The appointment fills the Division 7 Criminal vacancy effective until a successor is elected and qualified at the August 2026 countywide general election, per the committee summary the commission read into the record when the item was introduced.

Background: The item originated in the General Government Committee. The committee reported that the item came to the full commission without a recommendation after interviews of 13 applicants. The selection process the commission used gave each commissioner an opportunity to nominate one candidate by roll call and then to vote by roll call on the nominees in numerical order by district, per the commission’s permanent rules.

The commission also heard a public comment on the vacancy process from Josh Spickler, executive director of Just City, who urged the commissioners to pick “a person as principled and courageous as Judge Bill Anderson,” and emphasized the importance of judges who uphold the presumption of innocence and use recognizance bonds where appropriate.

What happens next: The newly appointed judge will serve until the next applicable election; the commission’s action was administrative and did not alter any pending court processes.