Retired Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Lyle Reid now has a permanent presence in the Jackson Supreme Court building, as his portrait was unveiled in a ceremony Friday.
Family, friends, and current and retired justices and judges attended the event that showcased the career of Chief Justice Reid and the work of Jamie Lee McMahan, a Tennessee artist that created the portrait.
The presentation included remarks by current Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee; Charles W. Bone of Bone, McAllester and Norton, PLLC; Larry S. Banks of Banks Law Firm; and The Honorable Frank F. Drowota, Retired Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
The benediction was performed by Dr. Lloyd Doyle, Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Brownsville.
Retired Chief Justice Lyle Reid began the practice of law in Brownsville, Tennessee, in 1957 as a sole practitioner and part-time secretary/clerk to the local chancellor. He then served a brief stint as General Sessions Judge and two years as Assistant State Attorney General.
Judge Reid returned to Brownsville where he practiced law for 25 years, including two decades as county attorney. In 1987 he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Court of Criminal Appeals. He was elected a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1990 and chosen by his colleagues to serve as chief justice. Upon Judge Reid's retirement from the Court in 1998, he became vice president and supervisor of litigation for a major corporation. Subsequently, he practiced law with a law firm with Nashville and Memphis offices. He now is associated with a law office in Brownsville's neighboring county seat of Covington.
Judge Reid also held offices in the legislative and executive branches of state government, as a member of the State House of Representatives and as a Deputy Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance. He has served the legal profession as a member of various committees, boards and commissions, including chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s House of Delegates. While chief justice, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts and President-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices. His awards include the American Judicature Award for the Effective Administration of Justice and the National Center for State Courts' Distinguished Service Award.
Judge Reid is married to Elizabeth Walker Reid and they have daughters Betsy Reid and Martha Lyle Ford (Bob) and grandchildren Walker Thornton, Eliza Ford and Mattie Ford.
