Criminal Court, Division II
Angelita Blackshear Dalton is Judge of Division II of the Davidson County Criminal Court. Judge Dalton assumed the bench after being appointed by Governor Bill Haslam to succeed Retired Judge J. Randall Wyatt. Dalton was first elected to the Davidson County General Sessions Court in 2006, becoming the first African American woman elected to a judgeship in Davidson County. She was re-elected for a second term in 2014.
Prior to assuming the bench, Dalton served in various positions with the Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office from 1997 through 2005, including a specialized assignment on the domestic violence prosecution team.
Since assuming the bench, Judge Dalton has actively worked, both inside the courtroom and in the community, to ensure efficiency in the courts. In 2010 and 2017, she was elected among her peers to serve as Presiding Judge of the Davidson County General Sessions Court. In that role, she was responsible for the administrative operations of the court. She co-chaired the Court Operations Committee of the Nashville Domestic Violence Safety Assessment, which was a collaborative effort with stakeholders in the General Sessions Court operations that oversaw the implementation of docket re-structuring to help the General Sessions Court system operate more efficiently, specifically as it relates to handling cases involving domestic violence.
Judge Dalton is an Adjunct Instructor at the Nashville School of Law where teaches the General Sessions Court Practicum.
Judge Dalton served on the Education Committee and was elected Vice President of the Tennessee General Sessions Judges’ Conference. She currently serves on the Tennessee Domestic Violence State Coordinating Council. She holds memberships in the Napier-Looby, Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations, the Lawyers’ Association for Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and the Links, Incorporated. Through the Links, Incorporated, Judge Dalton organized and facilitated Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness and Bullying Prevention seminars for high school and college students. She has served on the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct and the Tennessee Committee on the Judiciary Leadership. She served on the steering committee and was a charter member of the Belmont University College of Law American Inn of Court. Judge Dalton was selected among lawyers across Tennessee to the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law Class of 2007.
Judge Dalton and her family are members of Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church where she served on the Board of Trustees and actively participates in the Room in the Inn and Meals on Wheels ministries. While at Greater Bethel, Judge Dalton implemented a ministry devoted to helping children in the community prepare for the school year by providing backpacks and school supplies.
A native of Nashville, Judge Dalton graduated from Whites Creek High School in 1989. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Lane College in 1993 and her Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1997.
Judge Dalton and her husband, Derrick Dalton, are the parents of one son.