Campbell County native Cindy Wyrick

By Charlotte Underwood

GREENEVILLE, TN (WLAF) – Campbell County native Cindy Richardson Wyrick was recently appointed as Federal Magistrate Judge in Greeneville.     Wyrick, whose maiden name is Richardson, is from the Cherry Bottom/Oak Grove area and was appointed to her position on Sept. 30.

Wyrick attended Campbell County High School for three years, before her family temporarily moved to Bowling Green, KY, where she finished her senior year of high school and graduated in 1986.  She said her parents have since moved back to the Campbell County area.

This school days photo of Cindy Richardson Wyrick was taken from the 1984-85 Campbell County High School yearbook.

Wyrick said she always knew she wanted to work in the legal field and be a lawyer since the eighth grade.  She attended law school at the University of Tennessee and received her undergrad in 1990 and her law degree in 1994.  She said during her law school years, the “most fun” she ever had was clerking for Elizabeth Asbury  in Campbell County in the summer of 1992. “I learned a lot from her, and I had a blast doing it,” Wyrick said.  Now,  Asbury serves as Chancellor of the Eighth District Chancery Court in Tennessee.

She said it was during her law school years of various clerking positions in Knoxville that she realized she would like to be a judge. It was clerking for Judge Houston Goddard and later on for Judge Gary Wade when she began wanting to work towards becoming a judge herself.  “I saw how they were able to make a difference, and that’s when I wanted to be a judge,” Wyrick said.

During her time as a lawyer, she has worked in Sevierville, Nashville and Knoxville and has been the recipient of multiple legal honors and awards. She was in private practice for 25 years before getting appointed as a federal magistrate judge for the eastern district of Tennessee.  She presides over both civil and criminal cases and said she tries to “make a positive difference” each day.

An “interesting” recent case she presided over was for the naturalization proceedings for two individuals.”  These are people who have worked very hard to become United States Citizens, and it gives you a very different perspective and makes you feel guilty to not realize how blessed we are to be born U. S. citizens,” Wyrick said. She said she had enjoyed her experiences in the legal profession and becoming a federal judge.  “I have truly loved it. I feel very blessed to be where I am today, and I am very proud to be from Campbell County,” Wyrick said.

She is married to Tim Wyrick and they have three children. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 12/11/2019-6AM)