[1] Tarwater served as a law clerk to Judge Houston M. Goddard of the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
In 2014, Tarwater was asked to serve as general counsel to Governor Bill Haslam in his final term.
Tarwater returned to his firm in 2019,[2] and served until 2023 when he was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
[4] On February 2, 2023, Governor Bill Lee nominated Tarwater to serve as a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by the upcoming retirement of Justice Sharon G. Lee on August 31, 2023.
[5] On March 9, 2023, his nomination was confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly.