Judge Wheatcraft served as General Sessions Judge, Division I in Gallatin from 1985 to 1994 where she handled all types of civil and criminal disputes.  She was then appointed and elected as Criminal Court Judge from 1994 to her retirement in September 2006.  As a judge, she served on the Futures Commission of the Supreme Court, which recognized the need for Alternative Dispute Resolution as a way for citizens to access the courts.  She also served on the Court of the Judiciary for three years.  She was awarded the Leadership Sumner Award in 1995 and 2006 and the “Woman of the Year” by the Gallatin Business and Professional Women. 

Prior to her judgeship she was in private practice in Hendersonville as a  sole practitioner in both civil and criminal matters.  She was active in community organizations including the Board of Trustees for Volunteer State Community College, United Way Board, Hendersonville Community Child Care Center Board and Hendersonville Samaritan Center Board.  She had a particular interest in domestic violence, serving on the Tennessee Task Force Against Domestic/Sexual Violence, from whom she received a 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award. She continues to serve on the Task Force. 

She graduated from the Nashville School of Law in 1977 first in her class and a member of the Cooper’s Inn Society.

Judge Wheatcraft is married to Donald Wheatcraft.  She has two children (one is a lawyer) and three grandchildren in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.    She enjoys gardening, going to the Y, reading for pleasure and traveling to see her grandchildren.