AOC names new director

Familiar face takes over Administrative Office of the Courts

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Elizabeth Sykes

The Administrative Office of the Courts has a new Administrative Director, and she's moving one office over...the corner office.

Elizabeth (Libby) Sykes, formerly deputy director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), has been named administrative director of the state court system effective immediately, Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Barker announced Wednesday.

"This was not a difficult decision for the Supreme Court," Barker said.

"There was no question that Libby is the most qualified and well-suited person to fill this important position. She has the support of her staff and judges across the state who have relied on her experience, knowledge and common-sense wisdom during the years she has served as deputy director."

She succeeds Randy Camp, who resigned in August. Sykes has served as acting director since his resignation.

As court administrator, Sykes will oversee a staff of 80 in the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and manage a $100 million budget for trial and appellate courts statewide. The AOC provides support services for 183 trial and appellate court judges and their staffs and also provides educational programs and other services for general sessions and municipal court judges and their clerks.

"I am honored to serve the citizens of Tennessee as administrative director of their court system," Sykes said. "The last two decades of my career have been in public service, which is something I take very seriously and consider to be a great privilege."

Prior to joining the AOC in 1995, Sykes was executive director of the Tennessee Sentencing Commission where she had previously served as a staff attorney. She also has been a staff attorney for the state Departments of Correction and Health.

A Montgomery County native, Sykes earned her undergraduate degree from Austin Peay State University and her law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law.

This appointment fills one of the three major vacancies in Tennessee's judicial system, the other two being a vacant seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court and a successor for recently retired Attorney General Paul Summers. While the supreme court vacancy is not expected to be filled soon, an announcement on who will be the next Attorney General is believed to be coming in the near future.