Pictured in the courtroom at the Supreme
Court Building in Nashville are (seated) Chief Justice Janice M. Holder
and (standing left to right) Justice Cornelia
A. Clark, Justice William C. Koch, Jr., and Justices Gary R. Wade and
Sharon G. Lee.
Supreme Court
401 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37219-1407
(615) 253-1470
www.tncourts.gov
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state’s highest court and the court of last resort. The court normally meets in Jackson, Knoxville, and Nashville, as required by the state Constitution.
The five justices may accept appeals of civil and criminal cases from lower state courts. They also interpret the laws and Constitutions of Tennessee and the United States. The Supreme Court may assume jurisdiction over undecided cases in the Court of Appeals or Court of Criminal Appeals when there is special need for a speedy decision. The court also has appellate jurisdiction in cases involving state taxes, the right to hold public office, and issues of constitutional law.
Attorneys may present oral arguments before the Supreme Court. Unlike trials in lower courts, there are no witnesses, juries, or testimonies in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or Court of Criminal Appeals. After Supreme Court justices have heard oral arguments and reviewed the attorneys’ written materials, or briefs, they issue written decisions, known as opinions. Tennessee Supreme Court opinions on constitutional issues can be appealed only to the federal courts, which may or may not agree to consider the appeals.
Judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals are elected on a “yes-no” ballot every eight years. When a vacancy occurs, the seventeen-member Judicial Selection Commission interviews applicants and recommends three candidates to the governor, who appoints a new judge to serve until the next August general election. By state law, judges on the three courts must be evaluated every eight years. Results of the evaluations are published in newspapers across the state, to help voters decide whether the judges should be retained.
Born August 29, 1949, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; attended Allegheny College, 1967-68; B.S., summa cum laude, University of Pittsburgh, 1971; J.D., Duquesne University School of Law, 1975, and Recent Decisions Editor, Duquesne Law Review, 1974-75; senior law clerk to Herbert P. Sorg, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, 1975-77; practiced law, 1977-90; editor, Memphis Bar Forum, 1987-91; chair, Tennessee Bar Association Commission on Women and Minorities, 1994-96; trustee, Tennessee Bar Foundation, 1995-99; secretary, Tennessee Bar Foundation, 1996-99; Master of the Bench, Leo Bearman Sr. American Inn of Court, 1995-97; recipient, Memphis Bar Association’s Sam A. Myar Award as outstanding young lawyer, 1990, Charles O. Rond Outstanding Jurist Award, 1992, and Divorce and Family Law Section Judge of the Year Award, 1992; member, American, Tennessee, and Memphis Bar Associations; founding member, Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women; elected circuit court judge, Thirtieth Judicial District at Memphis, Division II, 1990; appointed, Supreme Court of Tennessee, December 1996, elected August 1998, reelected 2006. Justice Holder was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court on September 2, 2008.
Born September 15, 1950, Franklin, TN; United Methodist; B.A. Vanderbilt University, 1971; M.A.T. Harvard University, 1972; J.D. Vanderbilt School of Law, 1979; Articles Editor and Editorial Board Member, Vanderbilt Law Review; Graduate, National Judicial College and New York University Appellate Judges Program; Private Practice, Farris, Warfield & Kanaday, 1979-1989; Past Board Member, Lawyers Association for Women, Marion Griffin Chapter; Nashville Bar Association (Second Vice President); Member, Williamson County Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, American Bar Association, Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women (founding member), National Association of Women Judges, American Judicature Society; Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Foundations (Past Chair, Tennessee Bar Foundation); American Bar Association Commission on the American Jury 2004; Past Faculty Member, American Academy of Judicial Education, National Judicial College; Former Adjunct Professor, Vanderbilt University School of Law; Chairman, Tennessee Judicial Council (2006- ); Harry Phillips American Inn of Court; Tennessee John Marshall American Inn of Court; Dean, Tennessee Judicial Academy (1997-1998); Board of Directors, Conference of State Court Administrators (2004-2005); Vice President, Tennessee Judicial Conference (1997-1998); previous member Supreme Court Commissions on the Rules of Civil Procedure and Technology; 2005 Liberty Bell Award recipient from the Williamson County Bar Association; appointed Circuit Judge 21st Judicial District, October 1989; elected August 1990, reelected August 1998; appointed Administrative Director of the Tennessee Courts, May 1999; appointed to Tennessee Supreme Court, September 2005; elected August 2006.
Born May 31, 1948, Knox County, TN. Married, Sandra Franklin Wade; three children, Zachary, Katherine, and Elizabeth; four grandchildren; Methodist; cum laude Graduate University of Tennessee, 1970, B.S. and University of Tennessee College of Law, 1973, J. D.; private practice of law 1973-1987; appointed to Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals 1987, elected 1988, reelected 1990, 1998 and 2006; served as Presiding Judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals, 1998-2006; appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court effective September 1, 2006; Appellate Judge of the Year, American Board of Trial Advocates, 2004; Judicial Excellence Award, Knoxville Bar Association, 2004; Tennessee Bar Association, past member House of Delegates and Board of Governors; American Bar Association, Convention Delegate; Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association; Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; American Inns of Court; fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation; Tennessee Sentencing Commission 1990-1994; Tennessee Judicial Conference, president 1995-96; founder and secretary, Tennessee Judicial Conference Foundation 1996-present; Mayor, City of Sevierville, 1977-1987; Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, co-founder, past president, and chairman emeritus 1993 - present; Knoxville Zoo, past president and honorary board member; Leadership Knoxville, 1995-1996; University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Associates 1988-1991; University of Tennessee College of Arts and Sciences, Board of Visitors; University of Tennessee College of Law Dean’s Circle; UT Development Council; past president, Eta South Province, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, 2004 Legion of Honor, 2007 Raymond L. Gardner Alumnus of the Year; Sevierville Lions Club, past president; Sevier County Heart Association, past chair; American Heart Association Presidential Award, 1987; Key to the City of Sevierville, 1987; Sevierville Chamber of Commerce Award, 1987; Sevierville Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, 2004; four time recipient Sevier County Mountain Press Mover and Shaker of the Year; Gary R. Wade Boulevard, 1987; Leadership Sevier, co-founder and past chair 1997 - present; Walters State Community College Foundation Board of Trustees, past chair, 1994 - present; Pellissippi State Technical Community College President’s Associates; East Tennessee Foundation, board of directors; East Tennessee Historical Society, board of directors; Boys and Girls Club of the Smoky Mountains 1996 Financial Campaign, honorary chair; AAA East Tennessee, board of directors; United Way of Greater Knoxville Campaign Cabinet, board of directors, 1997; United Way of Sevier County, 2004-2006; Tennessee’s Resource Valley, board of directors, 1988 - present.
Born September 12, 1947, Honolulu, Hawaii. Married; Episcopalian; B.A. Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut), 1969; J.D. Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1972; LL.M in Judicial Process University of Virginia School of Law, 1996; Assistant Attorney General, State of Tennessee, 1972-1976; Senior Assistant Attorney General, State of Tennessee, 1976-1977; Deputy Attorney General, State of Tennessee, 1977-1978; Commissioner of Personnel, State of Tennessee; 1979-1981; Counsel to Governor Lamar Alexander, 1981-1984; Instructor in Constitutional Law, Nashville School of Law, 1997-Present; Adjunct Instructor, Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1988-1995; Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, president 1990-1994 and 1995-Present; American Inns of Court Foundation Board of Trustees, 2000-Present, Board Secretary, 2004-Present; United Way of Metropolitan Nashville Board of Trustees, 1980-Present, Board Chair, 2003-2005; Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Board of Trustees, 2005-Present; Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Associations; Tennessee Bar Foundation; Nashville Bar Foundation; Tennessee Appellate Judge of the Year, American Board of Trial Advocates, 2002; Nashville School of Law, Fourth-Year Instructor of the Year, 1998, 1999, 2001; Tennessee Supreme Court Advisory Commission on Technology, Co-chair, 1997-2001; Tennessee Judicial Conference, Executive Committee, 1985-1988; Tennessee Judicial Conference, Committee on Compensation and Retirement, 1984-Present, chair, 1990-2007; appointed by Governor Lamar Alexander to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, 1984; elected in 1984, 1990, 1998, and 2006; served as presiding judge of the Middle Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, 2004-2007; appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to the Supreme Court of Tennessee, June 2007. Justice Koch was elected to the Supreme Court of Tennessee in 2008.
Born December 8, 1953, Knoxville, Tennessee; two children; Methodist; graduate of Webb School of Knoxville; attended Vanderbilt University, graduate of University of Tennessee, B.S. in Business Administration with high honors; College of Business, degree in accounting, 1975; Graduate of University of Tennessee College of Law, 1978; private practice in Madisonville, Tennessee, from 1978-2004; served as county attorney for Monroe County, Madisonville city judge, city attorney for Vonore and Madisonville; Rule 31 listed family mediator; Tennessee Bar Association (house of delegates), Tennessee Bar Foundation, Tennessee Judicial Conference (executive committee), Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women (director), East Tennessee Lawyer’s Association for Women (president), Knoxville Executive Women’s Association (secretary), Boys and Girls Club of Monroe Area (board of directors), Monroe County Bar Association (president, vice president and secretary), Million Dollar Advocates Forum, American Judicature Society, Scribes, National Association of Women Judges; coauthor of Opening and Closing Arguments; appointed to Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section, June 4, 2004; elected August 2004; reelected for eight year term in August 2006; appointed to Tennessee Supreme Court, October 2008.