Justice Janice M. Holder of the Tennessee Supreme Court

Janice M. Holder (born August 29, 1949) is an American judge who served as a circuit court judge for Tennessee's Division II Circuit Court in the 30th district, served as the third woman justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1996 until 2014, and was the first female Chief Justice of Tennessee on the Tennessee Supreme Court from 2008 until her retirement in 2014.[1]

Education

Holder, a native of McDonald, Pennsylvania, attended Allegheny College from 1967-1968. She received a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971. In 1975 she was awarded the Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the law school of Duquesne University; during her final year there she served as Recent Decisions Editor of the law review.

Early career

After obtaining her law degree at Duquesne University, Holder started her legal career in a clerkship for Chief Judge Herbert P. Sorg on the United States District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania.[2] In her clerkship, Holder was able to absorb everything about being in the courtroom as a judge regarding the procedure and the decorum.[3] In 1979, she finished her job as a judicial clerk and made her way in the private practice of law in Pittsburgh.[3] In the 1980s, Holder moved to Memphis, TN.[4] Until 1990, Holder worked as a private practice lawyer in Memphis.[3] She served as an editor of the Memphis Bar Forum.[3] Holder was also a chair on the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee, and she sat on the board of directors for the Memphis Bar Association.[3]

After law school, Holder served as a clerk for the Honorable Herbert P. Sorg, then Chief Judge of the federal court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She engaged in the private practice of law from 1977 to 1990, moving during this time to Memphis, Tennessee. While in Memphis she served as editor of the Memphis Bar Forum, 1987–1991; chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Commission on Women and Minorities, 1994–1996, trustee of the Tennessee Bar Foundation, 1995–1999 and its secretary from 1996–1999, and Master of the Bench of the Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court, 1995–1997, and was the recipient of numerous professional awards. She is also a founding member of the Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women.

Circuit Court

In 1990, Janice M. Holder was elected as on the 30th Circuit Court as a judge.[5][6] In Tennessee, circuit courts are under general jurisdiction meaning they hear both civil and criminal cases as well as appeals. Circuit courts hear cases from the city, juvenile, municipal, and general sessions courts.[6] Janice M. Holder wanted to become a judge because the job allowed her to use her knowledge from trials. Holder ran for the open seat on the bench even though she did not have any political connections in Memphis.[7] She won the election in 1990 to be a judge on the 30th Circuit Court.[5][6]

As a judge on the circuit court, Holder established an alternative dispute resolution project. This leading project in Shelby County was intended to identify the usefulness of mediation, early neutral evaluation, and arbitration.[8] While serving on the 30th Circuit Court as a judge, Judge Holder received several distinctions for her outstanding work.[9] In 1990, she was selected for the Memphis Bar Association Sam A Mayr Award due to her advocacy and service to the legal profession and broader community.[10][9] In 1992, Judge Holder received the Chancellor Charles A. Rond Award as an Outstanding Jurist on behalf of the Memphis Bar Association.[10][9] The Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Judge Holder as the coordinating judge for breast implant cases in West Tennessee in 1993.[9] Judge Holder was a member of the National Conference of Chief Justices Mass Tort Litigation Committee in 1996.[9] Selected for the subcommittee chair, Judge Holder also was a member of the Silicone Gel Breast Implant Subcommittee in 1996.[9]

Because Circuit Court judges have to be re-elected continually, Holder feared that her dream job as a judge was insecure.[7] Judge Holder was a special justice during the November 1994 session on the Tennessee Supreme Court.[9] She applied to become a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court which has retention elections less frequently.[7]

Judicial career

In 1990, Holder was elected to the position of Circuit Court Judge, Division II, Thirtieth Judicial District. This district consists of Shelby County, Tennessee, and Division II deals primarily with civil cases. In 1996 she was one of three nominees for a vacancy on the Tennessee Supreme Court submitted to then-Governor of Tennessee Don Sundquist under the Tennessee Plan; she was the person subsequently selected by him, and her service on the Supreme Court began in December 1996. In August 1998, having been recommended for retention under the process outlined in the Tennessee Plan, she was approved by the voters of the state for a full eight-year term. In August 2006, having again been recommended for another eight-year term, she was again approved by the voters with a majority exceeding 75% and receiving a majority of affirmative votes in each of the state's 95 counties.[11] On June 26, 2013 Holder announced that she would not seek retention in August 2014 and would retire when her term ended.[12]

Authored court opinions

Janice M. Holder has authored over 335 Tennessee Supreme Court opinions.[13] Five of her more recent notable cases in which she authored the opinion include:

  • Jose Rodriguez a.k.a. Alex Lopez v. State of Tennessee, 437 S.W.3d 450 (Tenn. 2014)[13]
  • State of Tennessee v. Glover P. Smith, 436 S.W.d3 751 (Tenn. 2014).[13]
  • State of Tennessee v. John T. Freeland, Jr., 451 S.W.3d 791 (Tenn. 2014).[13]
  • William Caldwell Hancock v. Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 447 S.W.3d 844 (Tenn. 2014).[13]
  • Wilma Griffin v. Campbell Clinic, P.A., 439 S.W.3d 899 (Tenn. 2014).[13]

In Rodriguez v. State, a Mexican citizen plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge. He was granted judicial diversion, completed the diversion, and his record was subsequently expunged.[14] The petitioner then petitioned more than three years after the plea for post-conviction relief.[14] This petition stated that the trial counsel did not adequately advise the petitioner about possible immigration consequences resulting from the guilty plea.[14] The trial court barred this petition, and the Court of Criminal Appeals upheld that a petitioner with an expunged record is not able to access conviction relief.[14] The Tennessee Supreme Court granted the petitioner the right to appeal, and the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that expunged guilty pleas after having completed judicial diversion is not a conviction that is subject to collateral review under the Post-Conviction Procedure Act.[14] The Supreme Court affirmed the judgement given by the Court of Criminal Appeals.[14]

In State v. Smith, the defendant was convicted on two counts of fabricating evidence and six counts of making a false report about the disappearance of his wife.[15] The trial court imposed a one year sentence in county jail with six years of probation afterwards.[15] The defendant motioned for a new trial, and the trial court affirmed convictions of false report but dismissed the fabricating evidence convictions.[15] The state and defendant appealed.[15] The Court of Criminal Appeals reinstated the defendant's fabricating evidence convictions, dismissed the false report convictions, and reaffirmed remaining convictions and sentences.[15] The Supreme Court of Tennessee ruled that the two false report convictions should be dismissed due to insufficient evidence and that three of the false report convictions were multiplicities.[15] The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Criminal Appeals in every other aspect.[15]

Justice Janice M. Holder also wrote the court opinion in State v. Freeland.[16] The defendant was convicted on counts of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, especially aggravated kidnpaping, and tampering with evidence.[16] The trial court imposed a death sentence. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the lower court's conviction and sentence.[16] In an appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal appeals was affirmed in their judgement.[16] But the Supreme Court moved the case back to the trial court on behalf of an entry of corrected judgment in which the trial court merged the convictions for first degree murder into a singular conviction.[16]

Hancock v. Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee was a federal bankruptcy court in which the Board of Professional Responsibility instituted a disciplinary action against an attorney who was denied in his application for bankruptcy.[17] The attorney wrote an email to the judge who blocking the fee application demanding an apology.[17] When the Board decided that the attorney violated several Rules of Professional Conduct, the attorney was suspended from practicing law for thirty days.[17] The chancery court added violations for other misconduct, and the attorney appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.[17] The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the panel's conclusion in finding the attorney in violation of rules and that he was sanctionable for his conduct.[17]

In Griffin v. Campbell, civil action was filed by the plaintiff in the general sessions court.[18] This civil action claimed health care liability against the defendant.[18] The trial court ruled favor of the defendant.[18] The plaintiff filed a notice of appeal following the ruling, and appealed to the circuit court but was dismissed.[18] The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's judgement.[18] The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeals sending the case back to the trial court.[18]

Personal life

Janice M. Holder is active in her community contributing to various organizations to expand access to justice in Tennessee.[19] She is a member of the Metal Museum Board of Trustees and the Board of Commissioners of Memphis Area Transit Authority.[19] Holder enjoys practicing martial arts.[20] In American Combative Arts System, Holder has a sixth degree Black Belt, and she teaches children's karate classes.[21][20] Holder was on the Board of directors from 2012 to 2015 for the Memphis Council for International Visitors.[19] Introducing international visitors to the United States and its culture is a civic activity that Holder enjoys.[20] She also served as the chair of the Memphis chapter for the International Women's Forum from 2006-2013. Since 2010, she has been the honorary chair for Tennessee for iCivics.[19] Holder is also an equestrian. After completing law school she purchased a horse and kept several until 1989.[20] At the Memphis in May Barbeque Festival, Holder volunteers for as many shifts as possible annually.[20] Having studied French during her education, Holder enjoys visiting Paris, France when possible.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Memphis Downtowner Magazine - My 2 Cents". www.memphisdowntowner.com. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  2. ↑ Holder, Janice M. “Janice M. Holder C.V.” Tennessee Mediators, 2018. https://www.nadn.org/pdf/Janice-Holder.pdf.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Memphis Downtowner Magazine - My 2 Cents". www.memphisdowntowner.com. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  4. ↑ "Who's Who 2010". Memphis magazine. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  5. 1 2 "Who's Who 2010". Memphis magazine. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  6. 1 2 3 "Tennessee Circuit Court". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  7. 1 2 3 "Memphis Downtowner Magazine - My 2 Cents". www.memphisdowntowner.com. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  8. ↑ Inns of Court, “Alternate Dispute Resolution Biography: Janice M. Holder.”
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Holder, Judge Janice. "From Law Clerk To The First Female Chief Supreme Court Justice In The State Of Tennessee, Meet Trailblazer Judge Janice Holder - Realty Times". realtytimes.com. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  10. 1 2 Tennessee Courts. “Justice Janice Holder, First Female to Serve as Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice, Announces Retirement | Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts,” June 26, 2013. https://www.tncourts.gov/news/2013/06/26/justice-janice-holder-first-female-serve-tennessee-supreme-court-chief-justice#.
  11. ↑ August 3, 2006 Judicial Retention Election Results
  12. ↑ "Supreme Court Justice Janice Holder to Retire | Humphrey on the Hill | knoxnews.com". Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 “SUPREME COURT OPINIONS | Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.” Accessed October 31, 2023. https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/supreme-court/opinions.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holder, Janice M. Jose Rodriguez a.k.a. Alex Lopez v. State of Tennessee, 437 S.W.3d 450 (Tenn. 2014).
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Holder, Janice M. State of Tennessee v. Glover P. Smith, 436 S.W.d3 751 (Tenn. 2014).
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Holder, Janice M. State of Tennessee v. John T. Freeland, Jr., 451 S.W.3d 791 (Tenn. 2014).
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Holder, Janice M. William Caldwell Hancock v. Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 447 S.W.3d 844 (Tenn. 2014).
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holder, Janice M. Wilma Griffin v. Campbell Clinic, P.A., 439 S.W.3d 899 (Tenn. 2014).
  19. 1 2 3 4 Holder, Janice M. “Janice M. Holder C.V.” Tennessee Mediators, 2018. https://www.nadn.org/pdf/Janice-Holder.pdf.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Memphis Downtowner Magazine - My 2 Cents". www.memphisdowntowner.com. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  21. ↑ Inns of Court, “Alternate Dispute Resolution Biography: Janice M. Holder.”
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