The Hon. Bruce I. Griffey is a judge for the 24th Judicial District Circuit Court of Tennessee. He was elected to the bench on August 4, 2022, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Donald Parish.
The 24th Judicial District encompasses Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin, and Henry Counties.
Prior to his election, Griffey maintained his own private practice as a sole practitioner. He supplemented his practice with service as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, during which time he introduced legislation to ban teaching materials in public schools that contain LGBTQ content. Before that, he spent time as an assistant district attorney with the 24th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Griffey earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and English from the University of Mississippi in 1987. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Mississippi Law Center in 1990. He has been licensed to practice in Tennessee (1990), Mississippi (1992), and Florida (1996).
After graduating from law school, Griffey began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Aaron Brown (1990 to 1991) and the Hon. Odell Horton (1991 to 1992) of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis. Then, in 1992, he entered into private practice, working as an associate at the Law Office of William L. Bambach in Columbus, Mississippi.
The following year, in 1993, Griffey was hired as an assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights and Claims Division of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. He served in that capacity until 1994, at which time he returned to his position as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Odell Horton of the United States District Court. He continued his clerkship for two years, eventually leaving to become an assistant federal public defender with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
In 2002, while still residing in Memphis, Griffey opened his own private practice as a sole practitioner. He handled both general state civil litigation as well as federal criminal defense work for the next three years before leaving his practice to join the Hardison Law Firm. Griffey filled the remainder of his legal career in Florida, working as an assistant public defender for the 9th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office in Kissimmee (2007), an associate at Wean & Malchow in Orlando (2008 to 2010), a member at Davis & Griffey in Celebration (2010 to 2011), and the co-founder of FLECC in Celebration (2008 to 2013).
His memberships have included the National Rifle Association, the Memphis Bar Association, the Florida Bar Association, and the Henry County Bar Association. He has also been involved with a number of hunt clubs, including Misty Morning Hounds and South Creek Foxhounds.
A resident of Paris, Tennessee, Griffey and his wife, Rebecca, have two children. The family attends First United Methodist Church.
He is registered as a Republican.