Carolyn Jean Chumney (born February 13, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. She served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003 and represented the fifth district (East Memphis and Midtown) on the

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

City Council from 2004 to 2007. Chumney came in second place in the Democratic primary for Shelby County

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in 2002 and within 7 points of being elected the first woman Memphis mayor in 2007. Chumney is a leading attorney taking the fight for election security to the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. She is also the author of "The Arena: One Woman's Story" ady Justice Publishing 2021

Biography

She attended school at: *Shady Grove School *

White Station High School White Station High School is a four-year public high school located in Memphis, Tennessee. White Station High is a member of the Shelby County Schools system and is recognized as one of the best high schools in the state of Tennessee. U.S. New ...

The University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

As a Presidential Scholar, she earned her B.A. in economics and history with honors,

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

, and was student government president (1982–83). Chumney earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Memphis Law School The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school and is the only law school in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has been associated with the University of Memphis since the law school's ...

in 1986, as a Herff Law Scholar. During law school she was the editor-in-chief of the

law review A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pro ...

. As a

trial attorney A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...

, Chumney began her private practice in 1987 at Glankler Brown law firm, where she later became a partner. Now she has her own law office in the

White Station Tower i-Bank Tower is a 22-story, 274-foot-tall high-rise office building in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. It was designed by the Memphis-based architect Robert Lee Hall who also designed Clark Tower nearby.Clark Tower NRHP nomination document It is located a ...

. In 2001, she was honored by the Association for Women Attorneys for outstanding achievements in and for the legal profession.

House and legislation

From her election to the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

in 1990, over thirteen years Carol rose to various leadership positions, including chair of the House Children & Family Affairs Standing Committee, House Majority Whip, and chair of the Shelby County delegation. She passed the child care reform law as reported in ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and statewide news publications. She also secured the $200,000 state grant to create the UT Memphis Center for Women's Health.

Acclamations

Chumney has been recognized for her leadership with awards *Tennessee Trial Lawyer's Consumer Protection Award (1995) *Tennessee Citizen Action Leadership Award (1995) *Tennessee Task Force Against Domestic Violence (1996) *Tennessee Association for Education of Young Children *University of Tennessee Health Science Leadership Award (2001) *Tennessee Sierra Club (2001) *Tennessee Development District Association Legislator of the Year Award (2003) *National Democratic Leadership Council's A100 New Democrats to Watch (2003) *''Memphis Woman Magazine'' 50 Women Who Make a Difference (2003) She created and hosts ''Tennessee Lookout'', a public information show on the Library Channel 18.City Government Profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chumney, Carol 1961 births Living people Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee University of Memphis alumni Women state legislators in Tennessee Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Tennessee city council members Tennessee lawyers American women lawyers Women city councillors in Tennessee 21st-century American women