KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Anderson County prosecutor Emily Abbott has been tapped to become Knox County's next Criminal Court judge.

Gov. Bill Lee's office made the announcement Friday afternoon. Lee picked her from among three finalists.

Abbott will take the place of Judge Steve Sword, who was elevated earlier this year to the state Court of Criminal Appeals. Sword presided in Division I for 14 years.

Sword will swear Abbott in on Monday, August 18 in the Division I Criminal Court courtroom at 10:30 a.m. She anticipates starting work in Knox County very quickly.

Abbott is the second woman tapped to serve as a Knox County Criminal Court judge. Mary Beth Leibowitz, now retired, was the county's first woman in that court, serving from 1989 to her retirement in 2014 after nearly 26 years.

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