By: Lennard James
The Honorable Cedrick D. Wooten’s journey to the bench is a story of education, perseverance, leadership, and a lifelong commitment to Memphis. As Shelby County Circuit Court Judge for Division Six, Wooten serves the community that helped shape him. His path to judicial service was built over decades through education, teaching, school administration, private legal practice, court administration, faith, mentorship, and public service.
A lifelong Memphian, Wooten graduated from Melrose High School and continued his education at LeMoyne-Owen College, earning a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences in 1992 and another bachelor’s degree in Biology in 1996. He later earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Mississippi in 1997. His academic journey demonstrated an early commitment to education and professional development that would remain evident throughout his career.
Before entering the legal profession, Wooten spent six years as a teacher and four years as an assistant principal. Those ten years in education provided valuable experience in communication, leadership, decision-making, conflict resolution, organization, and accountability. Working directly with students also gave him an opportunity to influence young people well before he entered a courtroom as an attorney or judge. Public service, therefore, was already part of Wooten’s professional identity long before he was elected to the bench.
His professional interests eventually led him toward law. Before attending law school, Wooten clerked for the Honorable George H. Brown and the Honorable Jerry Stokes in Shelby County Circuit Court, Division Six. The experience would prove especially significant because the same division where he once learned by observing experienced judges would eventually become the courtroom over which he would preside. Wooten later attended the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor in 2005.
Wooten began his legal career in 2006 as an associate attorney with the Orange Law Firm and later opened his own law office that same year. From 2007 through 2017, he served as managing partner of Humphrey & Wooten, PLLC. His practice covered a broad spectrum of legal matters, including civil litigation, personal injury, family law, estate planning, bankruptcy, and medical malpractice. This diverse practice gave him experience working with individuals and families during some of the most consequential moments of their lives.
In 2017, Wooten returned to public service as Chief Administrative Officer for the Shelby County Criminal Court and Circuit Court Clerks’ Offices. The position expanded his perspective on the judicial system beyond representing individual clients. He became involved with the administrative infrastructure necessary for courts to operate effectively, including the systems supporting records, filings, court personnel, attorneys, judges, and members of the public.
In 2022, Cedrick D. Wooten was elected Shelby County Circuit Court Judge for Division Six, serving within Tennessee’s 30th Judicial District. His election brought his professional journey full circle. The courtroom where he had once clerked and learned from Judges George H. Brown and Jerry Stokes became the courtroom where he would carry the responsibilities of judicial office. His experience as an educator, attorney, managing partner, and court administrator provided a broad professional foundation as he transitioned from legal advocacy to the impartial responsibilities of the bench.
Beyond the courtroom, Judge Wooten has remained connected to professional and community organizations. He has been active with the National Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and Memphis Bar Association. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and Prince Hall Masonry. His commitment to service extends to his faith as a deacon at Mount Moriah East Baptist Church. Judge Wooten is married to Sylvia Wooten, and they have two daughters, Ariel and Alexia.
His connection to Orange Mound remains another meaningful part of his story. Wooten has continued to engage in mentorship within the community, providing younger generations with a visible example of what education, preparation, persistence, and opportunity can produce. His journey demonstrates that a person’s beginning does not have to establish the limits of that person’s future.
Judge Wooten’s career is especially compelling because it was not built through one profession alone. His experience moved from science and education to school administration, law, private practice, court administration, and ultimately judicial service. Each stage added skills and perspective that became part of the next. His story demonstrates that changing professional direction does not necessarily mean starting over; experience accumulated in one field can become an important foundation for leadership in another.
Today, Judge Cedrick D. Wooten’s story represents much more than professional advancement. It is the story of a lifelong Memphian who continued his education, accepted increasingly significant responsibilities, remained engaged with his community, and ultimately returned to the same judicial division where part of his legal journey began. From Melrose High School and LeMoyne-Owen College to the University of Memphis School of Law and the Shelby County Circuit Court bench, his career reflects preparation, perseverance, responsibility, and service.
Judge Wooten’s journey offers an important message for young people throughout Memphis: leadership is not created by a title alone. It is developed through years of learning, preparation, discipline, experience, and a willingness to serve. The teacher became an attorney, the attorney became a court administrator, and the administrator eventually became a judge. Through each chapter, Memphis remained home, and service remained a central part of his journey.
