Chief Justice William M. Barker will remain on the state Supreme Court until Sept. 15, two weeks later than his original retirement date, so the court will have its full five members for a Knoxville docket on Sept. 3, he said.
“When I notified the governor in early May of my intended retirement on Sept. 1, I had hoped that would allow enough time for the selection process to be completed before the court heard cases in Knoxville,” he said. “However, the Judicial Selection Commission will not be able to meet until Aug. 18 to evaluate applicants for the Supreme Court and recommend three names to the governor. That close time frame, coupled with the Labor Day holiday, convinced me that I need to be available to sit with the court.”
Barker said he discussed the decision with the governor’s office and “he agrees with my decision to postpone my retirement for two weeks.”
The chief justice is stepping down after a quarter-century of judicial service. Barker, 66, is a native of Chattanooga. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chattanooga and his law degree from the University Of Cincinnati School Of Law. Following graduation from law school, he entered the United States Army, serving for two years as a captain in the Medical Service Corps.
After his military service, he was in the private practice of law until his 1983 appointment to the Circuit Court for the 11th Judicial District. He was elected to the position in 1984 and again in 1990. During his trial court tenure, Barker was consistently given the highest rating for a Circuit Court judge in Chattanooga Bar Association polls.
In 1995, Gov. Don Sundquist appointed Barker to the state Court of Criminal Appeals. The following year, he was elected to an eight-year term. Barker was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1998 and was elected to a full eight-year term the same year and again in 2006. His colleagues on the court unanimously elected him chief justice in 2005.