Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger A. Page announced this week he will retire on August 31, 2024.
“My service on the Supreme Court and in the judiciary has been the honor of a lifetime,” Justice Page said in a statement. “The experience has been humbling and inspiring. The Tennessee judiciary is truly a family, and I have been fortunate to walk this path with my great friends in the judiciary. I will miss all of them and treasure their friendship.”
Page was first appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court by former Governor Bill Haslam in 2016. Page served as Chief Justice from 2021 to this year, as Justice Holly Kirby was elected to serve as the Court’s next Chief Justice.
“Justice Page has made a huge contribution to Tennessee’s justice system, first as a trial judge handling both civil and criminal cases, then on the Court of Criminal Appeals, and now on the Supreme Court, most recently as Chief Justice,” Chief Justice Holly Kirby said in a statement. “He is thoughtful and deliberate, and he brings wisdom and common sense to the serious issues we must decide. On a personal level, I thoroughly enjoy working with him and will miss him on the Court. We wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Page’s judicial service spanned more than 25 years at the trial court, intermediate appellate, and Supreme Court levels.
Page originally attended undergraduate school at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in Memphis, where he graduated in 1978 with a degree in pharmacy and worked as a pharmacist.
In 1984, Page graduated from the University of Memphis School of Law, with a degree in law.
After graduating from law school, Page clerked for then-U.S. District Court Judge Julia Smith Gibbons before moving to Atlanta to practice law. After two years in Georgia, Page returned to Jackson and practiced at Holmes, Rich, Sigler & Page, P.C. from 1987-1992.
Page left private practice in 1992 and was an assistant attorney general for the state until his election to the trial bench.
“I have been a pharmacist, an attorney, and a judge. If I hurry, I might have time for one more career…It has been incredibly gratifying to watch the start of an evolution across the judiciary,” Page said. “I look forward to following those changes and to catching up with my judicial family in between trips I have been planning for years, watching my grandkids play sports, and spending time with my wonderful wife.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Justice Roger Page” by Tennessee Courts.
