Tas Gardner elected President of Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference

Tas Gardner Elected President of Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference

Robert Taswell “Tas” Gardner has been elected by his fellow public defenders to  serve as President of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference. The  Conference is a statewide network of publicly elected district public defenders  representing each of Tennessee’s thirty-two judicial districts. Across the state,  more than four hundred attorneys work within these districts to fulfill the critical  constitutional duty of defending people who cannot afford legal representation  in criminal cases where their freedom is at risk. 

As President, Gardner will lead the Conference’s Executive Committee, which  supports public defenders across Tennessee and works with lawmakers on  policies and procedures that impact the justice system. In this role, he will  oversee the day-to-day business and affairs of the Conference. 

Gardner currently serves as the District Public Defender for Tennessee’s 24th  Judicial District, covering Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin, and Henry counties.  He was appointed to the position by Governor Bill Haslam in February 2017 and  elected to the role in August 2018. Gardner’s career with the 24th Judicial  District Public Defender’s Office began in 1992 as an investigator, and he became  an assistant public defender in 2008. 

Alongside his work as a public defender, Gardner also served on the Board of  Judicial Conduct from 2012 to 2015, where he helped review complaints filed  against judges. He’s also a member of the Henry County Bar Association and the  Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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