A Tennessee Supreme Court justice will retire next year, according to a press release.
“Today I notified Governor Lee I will retire on Aug. 31, 2023. It’s been the greatest honor of my professional life to serve in the TN judiciary. I am filled with gratitude,” said Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, attaching an official statement.
““Serving in the Tennessee Judiciary for the past 19 years has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Lee said in that statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Tennesseans and have done my best to fulfill my judicial oath by upholding the state and federal constitutions and administering justice faithfully and impartially.”
At her retirement, she will have served 15 years on the bench. She served as chief justice from 2014 to 2016.
Before her tenure on the state supreme court, she served four years on the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
“Justice Lee has always been forward-thinking, innovative and open-minded,” said Chief Justice Roger A. Page. “She has never forgotten where she came from and the people she serves. She is a justice of the people and has advocated for transparency and ensuring the Court’s opinions and orders use language that are accessible to everyone, not just attorneys. She has served her state well and the Court wishes her all the best in her retirement.”
The Tennessee Supreme Court has the unique duty of selecting the state’s attorney general.
In August, it chose Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, despite protest from Lee. She dissented in the order from the court to appoint Skrmetti, but ultimately accepted his appointment.
“It will be a privilege to continue serving the people of Tennessee as their Attorney General and Reporter,” she said at the time. “I look forward to working with the dedicated public servants at the Attorney General’s office to represent all three branches of Tennessee’s government. I thank the Supreme Court for entrusting me with this responsibility and General Herbert Slatery for his eight years of distinguished leadership.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Sharon Lee” by Justice Sharon Lee. Background Photo “Tennessee Supreme Court” by Thomas R. Machnitzki. CC BY 3.0.
