Retired TN Supreme Court Justice Dies
Adolpho A. Birch, the first black chief justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court and a consistent opponent of death sentences, has died. He was 78.
Birch’s death on Thursday was confirmed Friday morning by Chief Justice Cornelia A. Clark. It was first reported by WTVF-TV.
Birch, who was chief justice in 1996 and 1997, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004 and took a temporary leave from the bench for treatment. The cause of his death wasn’t immediately released.
Birch began his judicial career in 1969 as a General Sessions Court judge in Davidson County.
He was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 1993 and was elected the following year. In 1998, he was elected to an eight-year term, which he served until his retirement in August 2006.
