Lonnie Thompson is a sitting Judge on the Shelby County General Sessions Court, Division 6, seeking election to an unexpired term as Chancellor of Part 2 in the Shelby County Chancery Court. First elected to his current judicial seat in 1998 and most recently re-elected in 2022, Thompson holds a term running through September 2030; winning the chancery position would require him to vacate his General Sessions bench. He also serves as President of the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference, having been elected to that role in September 2025. Thompson earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987 and a B.A. in political science and piano performance from Oberlin College. His legal career includes serving as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill, a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Odell Horton, and Assistant City Attorney for Memphis under Mayor Willie Herenton. He operated a solo practice from 1994 to 1998 before becoming a judge. Raised in South Memphis by a single mother, Thompson originally aspired to be a concert pianist but shifted toward law following his arrest during student protests against apartheid-era financial ties at Oberlin. He remains active in music as a minister of music and pianist-organist at a local church.