Chief federal judge: 'We're pleased' despite crisis

Judge Waverly Crenshaw

When Waverly Crenshaw took over as chief federal judge for the Middle District of Tennessee last year, the district court was in crisis mode.

Judge Kevin Sharp had unexpectedly stepped down a few months after Todd Campbell’s retirement, leaving Crenshaw and Judge Aleta Trauger to handle the Nashville-area’s expansive federal docket on their own, at least until President Donald Trump could nominate and the U.S. Senate could confirm two new judges.