The following is a paid political advertisement paid for by Randal Gilliam for District Attorney General, 31st Judicial District, Teresa Stinson, Treasurer.

By Randal Gilliam, Candidate for District Attorney General, 31st Judicial District

A defense attorney once told me something I have never forgotten.

“If I ever committed a crime, you’re the last person I’d want prosecuting my case. But if I were charged with something I hadn’t done, you’d be the first prosecutor I’d want on my case.”

That is the standard I hold myself to every day. It is not enough to be a tough prosecutor. The right prosecutor is tough when toughness is called for, but always mindful that even the toughest stance can be taken fairly. Firmness and restraint are not mutually exclusive. Justice demands both at the same time. It is a standard that will inspire the confidence of the community it serves.

Learning to apply that standard doesn’t happen in a classroom. It is earned in the courtroom, over decades of real cases, real victims, and real consequences.

31 years of preparation

I have practiced law for 31 years. For 21 of those years, I have served as a prosecutor — across three Tennessee judicial districts, in courts large and small, on cases ranging from routine misdemeanors to the most serious felonies our law recognizes. For 15 of those years, I prosecuted cases here in Warren and Van Buren Counties and this community is still my home.

Those years spent working in our courtrooms and alongside our law enforcement officers gave me a deep understanding of the legal landscape of this district.

Teaching Tennessee’s prosecutors

In 2013, I attended the inaugural class of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference Trial Advocacy School at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in Memphis. The following year I was invited to join the faculty. I have been teaching there every year since.

The Trial Advocacy School trains prosecutors from across the state in the skills that make the difference between a conviction and an acquittal — how to present evidence, how to examine witnesses, how to argue to a jury. I am the only prosecutor from the 31st Judicial District ever selected to serve on that faculty.

Teaching other prosecutors how to try cases is not a ceremonial honor. It requires mastery of the craft. You cannot teach what you do not know.

The hardest cases

For nearly the last four years, I have served exclusively as a felony child abuse prosecutor. Not part-time. Not as one assignment among many. Exclusively. Every case I handle involves the most serious crimes committed against the most vulnerable victims — homicides, severe physical abuse, the worst cases of child sexual abuse our courts see.

This work demands precision. A charge filed incorrectly can collapse a case. Evidence mishandled can free a dangerous offender. A victim already traumatized by abuse can be further damaged by a prosecution that is not handled with both strength and care. After nearly four years doing nothing but this work, I understand what it requires.

This work has also reinforced in me a heart for all victims of violence, abuse, and neglect, and an even more vigorous focus on protecting children, the elderly, and animals by holding those who would cause these victims needless suffering accountable.

More than years

Every candidate in this race can point to years of experience. Every candidate shares the same broad goals — putting drug dealers in prison, offering a structured path to those willing to work for it, and locking up violent offenders. The years and the goals are not what separate candidates. What matters is the skill set, the judgment, and the temperament developed along the way.

Ours is an adversarial system. Prosecutors and defense lawyers go at each other hard — that is how it is designed to work. During my time as a prosecutor, I have built a reputation among my peers for an even temperament and respect for everyone involved. That is why the defense attorney’s words have stayed with me. They came from a professional adversary — and they describe a standard that, if followed, will restore confidence in the District Attorney’s office.

Putting experience to work

Experience matters only if it is put to work for this community. Here is how I will put mine to work.

It will start with putting victims first and respecting their rights — giving them a voice, the respect they deserve, clear and timely answers about where their cases stand, and resolution of their cases without unnecessary delay. Tennessee law requires nothing less.

It continues by restoring strong partnerships with our law enforcement officers, built on trust and communication.

Victims who are heard and officers who are true partners produce stronger cases. Stronger cases move faster through our courts. And cases that move faster reduce the backlog that delays justice for everyone.

Stronger cases and reduced caseloads will restore confidence in the District Attorney’s office.

What this means for Warren and Van Buren Counties

The District Attorney General of the 31st Judicial District will make thousands of decisions over the next four years — on charges, on pleas, on trials. Decisions about drugs, about violence, and about crimes against the most vulnerable among us: children, the elderly, and animals. Decisions about equal accountability for everyone who comes before the law regardless of wealth or political connections.

Charges change lives. The power to charge carries the duty to ensure every charge is just. Exercising that power requires judgment. And judgment defines a District Attorney General.

This community deserves a District Attorney in whom they can be confident. One who sets a standard of professionalism, sound judgment, and even temperament. I am that District Attorney.

Early voting is open. August 6th is the election.

Early voting runs from July 17 through August 1. Election day is Thursday, August 6, 2026. Whoever wins will serve the remainder of the current term, through 2030.

I am asking for the opportunity to bring 31 years of preparation to the service of Warren and Van Buren Counties. To learn more about my background and my vision for this office, I invite you to visit Gilliam4DA.com.

I am asking for your vote. The choice belongs to you.

 Randal Gilliam is a candidate for District Attorney General of the 31st Judicial District. He has served as an assistant district attorney for 21 years, including service as a specialized felony prosecutor focused on crimes against children. He has been a faculty member of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference Trial Advocacy School at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in Memphis since 2014.

 The preceding article was paid for by Randal Gilliam for District Attorney General, 31st Judicial District, Teresa Stinson, Treasurer.

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