Kyle A. Hixson, a 42-year-old lifelong Tennessean and seventh-generation resident of the state, currently serves as a judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals (Eastern Section), and has since September 2022. He previously sat as a Criminal Court Judge for the Sixth Judicial District (Knox County) from January 2020 to August 2022. Hixson’s entire legal career began as an Assistant District Attorney General in Knox County (2008–2012), continuing as an Assistant Attorney General in Nashville (2012–2014) with both criminal appellate and special-prosecutions responsibilities, and then returning to Knox County as Deputy District Attorney General (2014–2019), where he helped supervise a large office and prosecute serious felony cases.

A 2008 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law (Order of the Coif), Hixson has extensive trial and appellate experience: he tried dozens of jury trials (including first-degree murder, child rape, and aggravated assault cases) as a prosecutor and presided over 34 jury trials as a trial judge. On the Court of Criminal Appeals, he has participated in over 350 cases and authored more than 125 opinions, several of which have been published and establish binding precedent. He has also taught trial practice as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law since 2017.

Beyond adjudication, Hixson spearheaded the online publication of substantive Court of Criminal Appeals orders, served on policy initiatives addressing the opioid crisis, body-camera evidence, officer-involved shootings, and pretrial release, and helped Knox County safely resume jury trials early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Active in bar and community service, he has served on nonprofit boards, participated in diversity and educational outreach programs, and regularly speaks to civic groups about the justice system.

Hixson emphasizes in his application that his rural Upper Cumberland upbringing combined with extensive urban prosecutorial and judicial experience in Knoxville and Nashville gives him a statewide perspective. He seeks the Supreme Court appointment to continue serving Tennesseans with the same work ethic, respect for all parties, and commitment to the rule of law that have guided his career, and he pledges to uphold the law faithfully even when he might personally disagree with its substance.