Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., of the Tennessee Supreme Court has received the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity’s top honor, the Barbara Jordan Award, for his lifetime commitment to public service.
The award presented by the international organization is named in honor of former U.S. Rep. Barbara of Texas Jordan. Birch received his honor at the fraternity’s international convention in Phoenix, where he also was a keynote speaker.
Birch earned his B.A. and law degrees from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was in the private practice of law from 1958-66. He served as assistant public defender and later assistant district attorney general in Davidson County before becoming a General Sessions Court judge in 1969, where he remained until 1978 when he became a Criminal Court judge. He was appointed to the state Court of Criminal Appeals in 1987, was elected in 1988 and reelected in 1990. In 1993, he was appointed by Gov. Ned McWherter to the Tennessee Supreme Court. He was elected in 1994 and reelected in 1998. He served as chief justice in 1996-97.
Birch is a former associate professor of Legal Medicine at Meharry Medical College and a former lecturer in law at Fisk University and Tennessee State University. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the Nashville School of Law and has served as University of Memphis Distinguished Jurist in Residence.