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Hon. Daniel R. Shoemaker in his judicial chambers, looking at the camera over reading glasses.

East Tennessee

Republican primary · Tuesday, August 6

Daniel R.
Shoemaker for Judge.

Running for the open judge's seat on the Tennessee Court of Appeals. One judge for the 30 counties from Bristol to Chattanooga. First time the seat has been open in fifteen years.

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Dan Shoemaker on a Tennessee front porch in casual button-down, late afternoon.

Farragut, Tennessee · 2026

About Dan

Maryville-born.
UT-trained.
Knoxville-tested.

Eight years as a Knox County prosecutor. Twelve years in private practice. Nine years on the bench. Married 28 years to Sarah Beth, a nurse at UT Medical Center. Two grown sons. One a Marine Corps officer. One a third-year law student at Vanderbilt.

Lifelong fly fisherman. Volunteer at the East Tennessee Children's Hospital legal-aid clinic. Member of First Presbyterian Knoxville. This campaign does not talk about cases the court is still deciding. That is a rule for every Tennessee judge, not a dodge.

Read the full record
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Dan Shoemaker on the front porch of his home in Farragut, Tennessee, late afternoon.

Farragut, Tennessee · March 2026

A letter to my East Tennessee neighbors

East Tennessee residents deserve a court that answers.

You deserve a court that answers in months, not years. Right now, after both sides argue their case, families wait close to a year for a written ruling. That is too long. A working person cannot put their life on hold for a year while the court takes its time.

You deserve rulings you can actually read. Not pages of legal terms that send you back to a lawyer to explain what the court decided about your life. Every ruling I write will start with one plain paragraph anyone can read, before any of the citations.

You deserve a court with the doors open. Every three months I will sit in a different East Tennessee county courthouse for two hours and answer questions from anyone who shows up. No signs. No talking points. Just the work.

And you deserve a judge who has done the work. Nine years on the bench in Knox County. More than 1,800 cases ruled on, in writing. Not one of those rulings has ever been overturned for getting the law wrong. Civil cases answered in under six months. Criminal cases under four. Counted. Posted. Held to.

I am asking for your vote on Tuesday, August 6.

Dan Shoemaker

Knox County Circuit Court · Farragut · raised in Maryville

S 04 Gay Street in downtown Knoxville on a clear morning.

From the bench

"Dan writes rulings the people in the case can actually read and understand. That is rare. And that is the job."

Hon. Penny J. White

Retired Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court

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The judge at his working desk inside the courthouse, mid-afternoon.

Knox County Circuit Court

01

The work

Twenty-nine years in East Tennessee courtrooms.

Eight years as a Knox County prosecutor, putting away felons. Twelve years in private practice in Knoxville. Nine years on the bench in Knox County, since February 2017. Same county. Same courthouse. Same work.

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A folded TDOT topographic map of the Tennessee Court of Appeals Eastern Section laid out on a pine farmhouse table.

East Tennessee · 30 counties

02

The promise

Families wait too long for an answer.

Right now, after the hearing, families wait close to a year for a written ruling. That is too long. My promise: civil cases answered in under six months. Criminal cases under four. We will count it. We will post it. I will be held to it.

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A community college lecture hall in East Tennessee, set up an hour before a public Q&A — folding chairs in a semicircle, a single wooden chair and microphone at the front.

Cleveland State Community College · Bradley County

03

Open doors

Two hours of questions, every three months, in a different county.

No campaign signs. No talking points. Two hours where anyone can ask how this court works and what we are doing about the backlog. Recorded. Posted online. Open to folks who have never set foot in a courtroom.

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What people who know him say

People who have watched him do the work.

  • "Dan reads every page on his desk. Every search warrant. Every filing. There is no shortcut in his courtroom."

    Hon. Mary Beth Leibowitz

    Retired Knox County Criminal Court Judge

  • "Dan writes rulings the people in the case can actually read and understand. That is the job."

    Hon. Penny J. White

    Retired Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court

  • "My deputies always knew where they stood with Judge Shoemaker. Fair. Tough. Steady. He has earned this seat."

    Sheriff J. Tom Spangler

    Knox County Sheriff

  • "I argued cases against Dan for twelve years. He came in ready every single time. He told you the truth even when you did not want to hear it."

    Wade Davies

    Past President, Knoxville Bar Association

Plus 142 East Tennessee lawyers, 7 sheriffs, 11 retired judges, and 38 prosecutors from across the 30 counties. No party bosses. No PACs.

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From the campaign

What's been happening.

All news →
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Where this campaign draws the line

What this campaign will not do.

  • 01 Will not talk about cases that are still being decided, or cases that might come before this court.
  • 02 Will not take endorsements from party officials or political party committees.
  • 03 Will not appear at events that are closed to regular folks or only open to lawyers.
  • 04 Will not ask for a single dollar inside a courthouse, courtroom, or chambers.

These are not campaign tactics. They are the rules every Tennessee judge agrees to live by. They apply during the campaign, and they apply on the bench, the same way, every single day.