Lonnie Thompson

Current office

• Judge, Shelby County General Sessions Court, Division 6 (Civil), Memphis; first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2006, 2014, and 2022. Current General Sessions term runs through September 1, 2030. (Tennessee AOC judge profile, Ballotpedia)
• Elected President of the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference in September 2025 (one-year term). (TN Courts feature, Nov 2025)

2026 Candidacy

• Filed as a non-partisan candidate for Chancellor Part 2 (unexpired term), Shelby County Chancery Court, in the August 6, 2026 general election. (Shelby County Election Commission, Aug 2026 key dates)

Education

• J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1987.
• B.A., political science and piano performance, Oberlin College (Conservatory), on scholarship. (TN Courts feature)

Earlier career

• Legislative assistant on Capitol Hill.
• Law clerk to U.S. District Judge Odell Horton, Western District of Tennessee.
• Assistant City Attorney for Memphis under Mayor Willie Herenton.
• Solo practitioner, "Law Offices of Attorney Lonnie Thompson," 1994–1998.
• Licensed in Tennessee since 1992. (TN Courts feature, Lawyers.com)

Background

• Raised in South Memphis, one of five children of a single mother; attended Memphis City Schools.
• Serves as Minister of Music / pianist-organist at a Memphis church on Sundays. (TN Courts feature)
• Children: Lonnie B. Thompson II and Simone L. Thompson.

On the path from music to law, Thompson told TN Courts: "My ambition was to be a concert pianist, a classical pianist." After being temporarily arrested during Oberlin student civil-disobedience protests against the college's financial ties to apartheid South Africa, he said, "That began my transition from musician to lawyer." (TN Courts feature)

Compiled from publicly available web sources on 2026-04-18. Because his current General Sessions term runs through 2030, a win in the Chancery Part 2 race would require him to vacate that seat.

Public filings

Tennessee law requires candidates and officeholders to file campaign finance reports and a statement of interest. None of the state or county sites below supports direct links to an individual record — you'll need to search by last name on each.

Campaign finance

• State offices (Governor, US Senate, US Rep, TN Senate, TN House, State Executive Committee) — Tennessee Registry of Election Finance . Click Search for Candidates and PACs, enter last name “Thompson”, and submit.
• Shelby County and municipal offices (County Mayor, Commissioner, Sheriff, School Board, court clerks, municipal alderman, etc.) — Shelby County Public Campaign Finance Portal . Select the election year and search by candidate name (“Thompson”).

Statement of interest (conflict of interest)

• Required for state and local officials and candidates — Tennessee Ethics Commission Conflict of Interest Search . Enter last name “Thompson”and, if needed, select the applicable position from the dropdown.