After more than 17 years on the bench, including nearly a decade as a state appellate court judge, and three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge John H. Peay of Clarksville is leaving public life effective Dec. 30.
In a resignation letter to Gov. Don Sundquist, he said his tenure on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has been “one of the most satisfying and enjoyable experiences of my professional life.”
“It is after long thought that I have made this decision,” he wrote. “I served six years in the Tennessee House of Representatives, almost eight years as a circuit judge and over nine years on the Court of Criminal Appeals. I hope that I have given to the State of Tennessee as much as I have received.”
Peay, 64, attended public schools in Clarksville. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He practiced law in his home town for 22 years before his 1982 election as a Circuit Court judge. In May 1990, Gov. Ned McWherter appointed him to the Court of Criminal Appeals. He was elected to eight-year terms in August 1990 and August 1998. He has received the Liberty Through Law Award from the Tennessee Young Lawyers Conference of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Clarksville Barristers.
Peay and his wife, Gail, have three children.