TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Oct 13, 2025

Civil rights attorney and former Shelby County Commissioner Walter Bailey Jr. reflects on his decades-long legal and political career in a profile from Action News 5. A trailblazer in constitutional law, Bailey served as lead counsel in Tennessee v. Garner, the U.S. Supreme Court case that limited police use of deadly force under the Fourth Amendment. His career also included representing Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike, leading desegregation efforts in Shelby County Schools and championing the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces. In 2018, the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center was renamed to honor him. Bailey tells the news station he remains concerned about the nation’s political polarization and racial division, urging continued vigilance in the pursuit of justice and equality.