Cornelia Anne Clark (September 15, 1950 – September 24, 2021)
[Supreme Court]
'' Tennessee Blue Book'', 2005-2006 was an American attorney and jurist who served as a justice of the
Tennessee Supreme Court from 2005 until her death in 2021.
Early life and education
Clark was born in
Franklin, Tennessee, the daughter of William Howard Clark Sr., and Cornelia Anne Ewin Clark. Her family moved to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
when she was 12 years old. After high school in Atlanta, she attended
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, where she received the
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree, in 1971, with a major in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
. She subsequently earned the
Master of Arts in Teaching at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, in 1972, and worked as a teacher in Atlanta for several years. In 1976, she returned to Nashville to study at the
Vanderbilt University Law School
Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...
, where she was awarded 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 ...
in 1979.
[Gael Stahl, Chief Justice Connie Clark learned early the importance of being at her best, ''Tennessee Town & City'', October 25, 2010]
Career
After law school, she engaged in the private practice of law with the former firm of Farris, Warfield & Kanaday, where she was the first woman to be a partner, and worked as city attorney in her home town of Franklin.
In 1989, Governor
Ned McWherter
Ned Ray McWherter (October 15, 1930April 4, 2011) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee, from 1987 to 1995. Prior to that, he served as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 19 ...
appointed her
circuit judge for the 21st Judicial District of Tennessee, covering Williamson, Hickman, Perry, and Lewis counties.
She held this position from 1989 to 1999 and was the first woman to serve as a trial judge in rural Tennessee counties.
While engaged in the practice of law, she also taught the subject as an adjunct professor at the Vanderbilt Law School.
In May 1999 the Tennessee Supreme Court appointed Clark to the position of director of the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. In 2005, while working in this position, she became one of three nominees chosen by the judicial selection commission created under the
Tennessee Plan
The Tennessee Plan is a system used to appoint and elect appellate court judges in Tennessee. It is largely patterned after the Missouri Plan, and an earlier version in Tennessee was called the Modified Missouri Plan. At the next general election ...
for potential appointment to a vacancy on the Tennessee Supreme Court, and was selected for the office by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Phil Bredesen. Her Supreme Court service began in September 2005.
[ In June 2006, the judicial retention commission recommended her for a full eight-year term on the Supreme Court. Her retention in office was approved by Tennessee voters in August 2006.]
Clark served as chief justice from September 1, 2010, until September 1, 2012.
Professional affiliations and activities
Clark was a member of the Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women and served as Second Vice President of the Nashville Bar Association. She was a Fellow of the Nashville, Tennessee, and American Bar Foundations, and member of the Williamson County Bar Association. She served as chair of the board of directors of the Nashville YWCA and was on the Board of the League of Women Voters of Williamson County. She was a member of American Judicature Society and served as a faculty member of the American Academy of Judicial Education. She served as chair of the Tennessee Judicial Council and inaugural chair of the Judicial Evaluation Commission. She previously served as a member of the board of directors of the Conference of State Court Administrators
The Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), which was established in 1955 and incorporated in 1982, consists of the state court administrators and equivalent officials in each of the states and territories of the United States
...
. She was an Access to Justice Commission Liaison for the Supreme Court. In 2004, she was named as one of 21 members to the American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
(ABA) Commission on the American Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
.[
]
Teaching
Clark taught fellow judges at the National Judicial College, American Academy of Judicial Education, and the American Institute for Justice. She was an adjunct professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Law, for 10 years, and served on the faculty of the Nashville School of Law. Clark was also vice president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and dean of the Tennessee Judicial Academy, when she was a trial judge. She was also a member of the Supreme Court Commissions on the Rules of Civil Procedure and Technology.
Community involvement
Clark was a past board member of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County. She was co-chair and served on the Board of Directors of Franklin Tomorrow, Inc. She was chair of the City of Franklin Land Use Plan Steering Committee and citizen chair of the City of Franklin Charter Revision Committee. Clark was a former member of the Williamson County-Franklin Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She served as the first regional Allocations Panel chair of the United Way Worldwide while serving as a member of the Williamson County United Way board of directors.
Awards
Clark was a recipient of the Janice M. Holder Access to Justice Award, from the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services; the Tennessee Bar Association's Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award; the Vanderbilt University School of Law Distinguished Service Award; the Grayfred Gray Award, from the Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators; the Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey Award, from the Lawyers’ Association for Women - Marion Griffin Chapter; the Liberty Bell Award, given by the Williamson County Bar Association; and the Pioneer Award, from Vision 2020. The Southeastern Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates named Clark Appellate Judge of the Year. She was inducted into the Nashville YWCA Academy for Women of Achievement.
See also
*List of female state supreme court justices Female state supreme court justices
First female justices
Below is a list of the names of the first woman to sit on the highest court of their respective states in the United States.
The first state with a female justice was Ohio; Florence E. ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Cornelia A.
1950 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century American women
21st-century American judges
21st-century American women judges
Chief Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court
Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni
Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court
People from Franklin, Tennessee
Tennessee lawyers
Vanderbilt University Law School alumni
Vanderbilt University alumni
Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States
Women in Tennessee politics