Justice Janice M. Holder, the third woman in the state's history to serve on the Supreme Court of Tennessee, will become the first woman ever to serve as its chief justice when she is sworn into office at 2 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Supreme Court Building in Nashville.
"I am grateful to my colleagues on the court for their votes of confidence and look forward to working with them as we continue our efforts to bolster the public's trust and confidence in the judiciary," Holder said. "I have the highest respect for the court's intellectual integrity, enthusiasm, work ethic, and commitment to the law and public service."
Retiring Chief Justice William M. Barker, will administer the oath of office to Holder, who was elected by the Court to serve a two-year term. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in December 1996 and was elected in 1998 to a full eight-year term. In 2006, she was reelected to a second eight-year term.
Holder, 58, was elected as a Circuit Court judge in Shelby County in 1990 after having practiced law from 1977-90. She held this position until she was appointed to serve on the Supreme Court.
The incoming chief justice earned her B.S. degree summa cum laude in 1971 from the University of Pittsburgh and her J.D. in 1975 from Duquesne University School of Law, where she was a Law Review editor. After graduating, she was a law clerk for Chief Judge Herbert P. Sorg of the U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania.
In 1990, she was recipient of the Memphis Bar Association's Sam A. Myar award as outstanding young lawyer and in 1992 received the Charles O. Rond Outstanding Jurist Award. Also in 1992, she was the Divorce and Family Law Section Judge of the Year. Holder also was awarded the Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award for Oustanding Achievements in and for the Legal Profession by the Association for Women Attorneys in 1999.
Holder, of Memphis, holds a black belt in karate and also enjoys other physical activities, including scuba diving, boating on the Mississippi and golf.
"Those are the things that keep me balanced," she said. "I believe in the value of hard work whether I am wearing my judicial robe or my karate gi."
She will become one of 20 women chief justices nationwide, according to the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, VA.