Frank F. Drowota III (July 7, 1938 – April 15, 2018) was a former chief justice of the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice. Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state le ...

Drowota was born in

Williamsburg, Kentucky Williamsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Whitley County, on the southeastern border of Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,245 at the 2010 census. Developed along the Cumberland River, the city was founded in 18 ...

but moved with his family to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

as a small boy. He attended

Montgomery Bell Academy Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It is the successor to two schools: the Western Mi ...

, graduating in 1956. He matriculated at

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 ...

that year, graduating with a

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 history and political science in 1960. Drowota served on active duty in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1960 to 1962. He then attended 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 ...

, and was awarded the

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 ...

degree in 1965. He served in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

as a

Judge Advocate General's Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judg ...

officer. Drowota practiced law with Goodpasture, Carpenter, Woods & Sasser in Nashville until 1970, when he was elected chancellor of the Davidson County Chancery Court. From this position he was elevated to the

Tennessee Court of Appeals The Tennessee Court of Appeals (in case citation, Tenn. Ct. App.) was created in 1925 by the Tennessee General Assembly as an intermediate appellate court to hear appeals in civil cases from the Tennessee state trial courts. Appeals of judgments m ...

in 1974. In 1980, Drowota was elected to an unexpired term on the

to the seat of former justice Joe Henry, who had died of a heart attack. Drowota defeated George Brown, the court's first African-American member, who had been appointed to the position by the then-

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee fro ...

, but Brown's appointment had not been confirmed by the voters. Drowota won the election and was subsequently re-elected to full eight-year terms in 1982, 1990, and 1998, the last time under provisions of 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 ...

. During his tenure on the Supreme Court, he was elected by his peers to two terms as chief justice. In 2006, the

Tennessee Bar Association The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Tennessee. History On December 14, 1881, 69 Tennessee lawyers signed the Charter of Incorporation establishing the Tennessee Bar Association. References Exte ...

honored Drowota by establishing "The Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award". The award is presented annually by the organization to a Tennessee judge who has demonstrated outstanding and dedicated service to the bench and bar, with Justice Drowota as its first recipient. The same year Drowota retired, he chaired the Tennessee Bar Association's committee working to ensure fair and ethical campaigns. He developed a code of conduct to govern judicial campaigns and personally contacted each judge and judicial candidate in Tennessee to encourage them to abide by the code. He served as a trustee of the Frist Foundation,

and the

Nashville School of Law Nashville School of Law (formerly known as the Nashville YMCA Night Law School), is a private law school founded in 1911. The school's students attend classes at night on a part-time basis. History In the fall of 1911, Morton B. Adams, Will ...

, and in 2007 he became chair-elect of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

of Middle Tennessee. Drowota died in Nashville on April 15, 2018 at the age of 79.

References

Sources

* ''

Tennessee Blue Book The ''Tennessee Blue Book'' is an official government manual for the U.S. state of Tennessee, published by the Secretary of State of Tennessee. The ''Blue Book'' is typically published on a biennial basis. Its contents include details on the organ ...

'', 1991–94 and 2005-06 editions 1938 births 2018 deaths Tennessee lawyers Chief Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court People from Whitley County, Kentucky People from Nashville, Tennessee Military personnel from Tennessee United States Navy officers Vanderbilt University alumni 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court {{Tennessee-state-judge-stub