KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — One of East Tennessee's newest federal magistrate judges has finally been given her formal investiture ceremony nearly a year after being sworn in.
Chief U.S. District Judge Travis R. McDonough presided over Magistrate Judge Jill McCook's investiture on Friday.
McCook took her oath of office on Jan. 31, 2022, after succeeding U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Bruce Guyton -- who retired after serving in the role since 2003.
McCook formerly clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan in Knoxville. She was for four years an attorney for the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville. Before that, she was an attorney with the Baker, Donelson firm.
A magistrate's job entails helping district court judges, handling many aspects of federal proceedings such as criminal first appearances and the issuance of warrants.
McCook got her law degree from Washington and Lee University in Virginia and her bachelor's degree from Emory & Henry College in Virginia.
McCook was named to be a magistrate judge in the summer of 2021.
