NASHVILLE, TN — Attorney Joy M. Sims announced her candidacy for the position of Judge of the Davidson County, Tennessee Chancery Court, Part II today. She will run in the Democratic primary which will be on May 1, 2018. Attorney Sims has practiced law since 1984. She currently practices in the areas of civil litigation, domestic relations, probate, landlord/tenant law as well as other areas. Her practice has included litigation in the chancery courts of Nashville and the surrounding counties. Sims office which she purchased and restored is located in the historic Edgefield area of East Nashville at 611 Woodland Street.
Sims, a native Nashvillian has served as the secretary and vice-chair of the Davidson County Democratic Executive committee during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. While serving she helped to organize the committee and helped many democratic candidates get elected.
Sims was the first African American female to be appointed as a Metropolitan Judicial Commissioner where she served at night court from 1990-1995. She has also served as Assistant to the General Counsel (1987) at Meharry Medical College. In recent years Sims has taught continuing legal education courses to numerous lawyers and legal professionals in the Nashville area.
She has received several awards in the area of law during the course of her career from the Nashville Community including the NAACP Image Award in 1995, the 1992 Professional Award by the Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club, Inc., the 2002 Eta Phi Beta Business Society Award and the 2004 Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc., Alpha Chi Chapter Award for Outstanding Community Service.
Attorney Sims is known for her volunteer work in the Nashville community. She has served on many civic and charitable boards including an eight (8) year stint on the Tennessee Board of Accountancy. She also served on the Metropolitan Beer Board from 2007-2012. Joy has made several national television appearances including court tv as a guest commentator and on PBS where she appeared on a domestic violence special.
Joy M. Sims served as president of the Haynes Heights Subdivision neighborhood association for several years.
Sims participates regularly in charitable events in the Nashville area. She has served as mentor to many young people in the community as well as young lawyers. Last year she participated in the dedication of the Ivanetta Davis Early Learning Center, where she helped to establish a supply closet for the teachers. This summer she participated in two back pack giveaways and packed food supplies for children in need. This fall she participated in fall festivals with gifts which she personally assembled to give to children in the Nashville area.
She is a graduate of Moses McKissack Elementary School, Peabody Demonstration School, Hollins College and the University of Memphis Law School. Sims attended Tennessee State University (her late parents’ alma mater) and remains an avid TSU football fan. Sims, during her father’s lifetime travelled to each of the Tennessee State University football away games and enjoyed tailgating with the TSU fans. She is also a lifetime member at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, where she serves as chair of the Legal Committee. She has enjoyed the years at church where she taught Vacation Bible School to the preschoolers. She also belongs to the Matrons Circle, where she personally gives a gift to each attendee at their annual Valentine’s Day dinner for the residents of Kelly Miller Smith Towers. Sims also speaks to the church members as well as to other church groups about Wills and final directives.
She is the daughter of the late Harvey “Coach” Sims and Margaret M. Sims. Coach Sims was a community little league coach. He also taught and coached football at Haynes High School as well as North High School. Before his retirement from Metro schools, he taught an outreach course for job training at Antioch High School. Her mother, Margaret was an elementary school teacher at Meigs, Moses McKissack and Paragon Mills elementary. She served as a guidance counselor at Haynes and Ewing Park Jr. High School.
Sims states that she is of the people, for the people and believes that she will bring a unique perspective to the bench based on her vast experience as a litigator in Nashville and middle Tennessee. Sims believes that her previous experience as a Judicial Commissioner gives her an added level of understanding to the requirements of serving on the bench. She also believes that her recent life crisis (she lost her Mother to a fire which destroyed their shared home and personal belongings in 2013) left her with a sense of the frustration and needs that many litigants feel when they must access the regulatory and judicial system to seek remedies for their harm.
Sims believes that her faith, her church family and extended Nashville friend family helped to sustain her through a difficult time and she looks forward to making many more friends as she campaigns for this position. The kick-off for her campaign will be on December 3, 2017d 2:30 p.m. at Shugga Hi, 1000 Dickerson Pike, Nashville, TN 37207 and all are invited!
Election is on May 1, 2018 and Early Voting period is from, April 11-April 26, 2018.