Judge Zack Walden speaks at Rotary

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- Eighth Judicial District Judge Zack Walden was the guest speaker for Tuesday’s Campbell County Rotary Club at the LaFollette Methodist Church. He presides over the criminal court, recovery court and veteran treatment court for Campbell, Claiborne, Fentress, Scott and Union Counties. Walden was elected in 2022 and is the youngest trial court Judge in the United States and is a 2009 graduate of Campbell County High School. He is also the former Campbell County Republican Party Chairman.

Walden also serves as Secretary to the Bar Division of the Young Lawyer Association and was named in Knoxville News Sentinel 40 under 40 just to name a few facts and achievements.

Walden was introduced by Rotarian and LaFollette Librarian Nancy Green, who shared she has known Zack since he was little and that he was someone “Campbell County could be proud of.”

Walden went over several aspects of the court system and his position as judge, along with some of the crime trends in the county, saying most of the crimes involved drugs and theft and burglary, often because of drug use.

Walden said something he is proud of is expanding the Recovery Court to include a veterans treatment aspect.

“Something we have been moving towards as a state is “problem solving courts.”

According to Walden, the Recovery Court reduces crime rates by reducing the number of individuals who end up right back in the jail system, which in turn costs taxpayers money.

“We save money with Recovery Court. We ensure compliance, this is a high accountability program that saves lives, it restores families,” Walden said, explaining these individuals have case workers, go through a halfway house, and probation officers as part of the rigorous program.

Individuals in the program are never violent offenders and are carefully screened before going through extensive treatment in the program, as well as multiple drug screens that occur frequently.

“They are required to submit a budget, required to get a job, they learn life skills,” Walden said. Veterans Court and Recovery Court participants can also have access to higher education,” Walden said.

The Veteran’s treatment court is a specialized court aimed at a focused approach to Veteran’s who are struggling and have found themselves in the court system.  The Veteran’s Affairs is partnered with the Veteran’s Court program, according to Walden.

He said the biggest difference in the county’s Veteran’s Court program is the mentor aspect.

“All Veteran’s in the program are paired with a veteran mentor to help them through the program,” Walden said. Vets going through the court system have to volunteer to go through Veteran’s court, it can’t be ordered.

Walden also briefly touched on Mental Health Court. Participants in this court are referred from criminal court into mental health court.

“Mental Health Court is a huge need in the district and in the county. Judge Elizabeth Asbury is over this court. It is for people with severe mental illnesses who often end up right back in the judicial system for low level offenses over and over, and they can get help through this system…These are things we do to try to get people help and get people out of the system,” Walden explained. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-09/24/2025-6AM)