Honorable Steve R. Dozier
408 2nd Ave. North
Suite 6130
Nashville, TN 37201
Judge Dozier is a judge for the Criminal Court, Division 1, in Davidson County. He was appointed by Governor Don Sundquist, on December 12, 1997, to fill the unexpired term of the late Thomas H. Shriver. The appointment was made after Judge Dozier’s name was submitted to the Governor by a statewide bipartisan Judicial Selection Commission. Prior to his appointment, Judge Dozier had been an Assistant District Attorney General for nine years and had served as a Team Leader in the Criminal Courts. Judge Dozier also practiced for five years in the law firm of Williams, Smith & Dozier. Judge Dozier’s career includes twenty years of service in the General Sessions and Criminal Courts of Davidson County, which includes serving as law clerk for the Honorable J. Randall Wyatt, and an in court clerk for now Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch. Judge Dozier has experienced criminal cases from the perspective of a prosecutor, a defense attorney, a clerk and a judge.
Firm, Company, or Court
Judge 20th Judicial District/Nashville
Education
B.A. Vanderbilt University, 1979
Juris Doctor
Nashville School of Law, 1984
Bar Admissions
Tennessee, 1984
Court Admissions (and Year)
Tennessee Supreme Court, 1984
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 1986
Professional Memberships & Activities
Nashville Bar Association – Past 1st Vice President
Tennessee Supreme Court District 5 Investigating Committee
Harry Phillips American Inn of Court
Belmont Inns of Court Mayor’s Commission on Crack Cocaine, 1997
Mayor’s Criminal Justice Planning Committee 1997 to Present
Tennessee Judicial Conference Fraternal Order of Police Governor’s Alliance for Drug Free Tennessee Nashville’s Vanderbilt Alumni Career Network
Davidson County Child Sex Abuse Council You Have The Power Women In Numbers
Governor’s DUI Task Force 2006
Civic Memberships & Activities
Past President of Nashville Sertoma Club
Accolades & Distinctions
Cooper’s Inn, Top 10% of Class, Nashville School of Law
Publications
Nashville Bar Journal July 2007 “Objection: Hearsay”
Nashville Bar Journal November 2009 “There Is a New Sheriff in Town: Tenn. R. Evid. 803(26) Changes Tennessee Law”
Significant Cases
State vs. Perry March – Nashville lawyer convicted of killing his wife, Janet Levine March
State vs. Jerome Barrett – (1) Convicted of killing young girl scout, Marcia Trimble from 1975 (2) Convicted of killing Vanderbilt co-ed from 1975
State vs. Bruce Mendenhall – Convicted of killing female at Truck Stop of America, alleged serial killer
State v. William Stevens–leading case on expert witnesses
CLOSED PUBLIC NUISANCES:
Kurdish Pride Gang
Various establishments selling synthetic marijuana and alcohol to minors
CLE Presentations
Nashville School of Law: Motion Practice in Criminal Court – November, 2013
Speaker Evidentiary Issues for DUI’s – October, 2012
Speaker Tennessee District Attorneys Conference Capital Case Litigation Seminary April, 2010
Gruter Institute Neuroscience for Judges Nashville, TN – June, 2009
Tennessee Commission on CLE-Speaker Development Workshop August, 2008
Tennessee Judicial Academy – August, 2005
Speaker Tennessee Judicial Conference – October, 2005
Speaker Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys – June, 2003
Speaker “View From The Bench” Tennessee General Sessions Judges’ Conference Nashville, TN – September, 2000
Moderator – Leadership Nashville, Criminal Justice, 1994/2005