Dwight Edward Tarwater (born April 28, 1955) is an American lawyer fromTennessee who has served as a justice of theTennessee Supreme Court since September 2023.

Tarwater was born on April 28, 1955, inKnoxville, Tennessee. He received aBachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Tennessee in 1977 and aJuris Doctor from theUniversity of Tennessee College of Law in 1980.^[1]

Tarwater served as a law clerk to Judge Houston M. Goddard of theTennessee Court of Appeals.^[2] From 1980 to 1984, he was an associate with Egerton, McFee, Armistead and Davis, he later became partner in 1984 and remained partner until 1987.^[3] He was a founding member of the firm Paine, Tarwater and Bickers in 1987. In 2014, Tarwater was asked to serve asgeneral counsel to GovernorBill Haslam in his final term. Tarwater returned to his firm in 2019,^[2] and served until 2023 when he was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

In January 2023, Tarwater was one of three candidates suggested to the governor.^[4] On February 2, 2023, GovernorBill Lee nominated Tarwater to serve as a justice of theTennessee Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by the upcoming retirement of JusticeSharon G. Lee on August 31, 2023.^[5] On March 9, 2023, his nomination was confirmed by theTennessee General Assembly. His term began on September 1, 2023.^[6][7]

• Dwight E. Tarwater atBallotpedia

• 1955 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 21st-century American judges
• 21st-century American lawyers
• Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court
• Lawyers from Knoxville, Tennessee
• University of Tennessee College of Law alumni

• Articles with short description
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