TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Trailblazing Nashville Judge Barbara Haynes Dies at 84

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jan 14, 2022
News Type: Passages

Former Davidson County General Sessions and Circuit Judge Barbara Haynes died yesterday after a long illness, the Tennessean reports. She was 84. Haynes was the first woman elected general sessions judge in the county and was later elected to the circuit court. She was the first person in her family to attend college. It was there she met her husband Joe Haynes, who went on to serve as a Democratic state senator and her law partner. He died in 2018. A 1976 graduate of the Nashville School of Law, Haynes was just five years into her career when she ran and won a seat on the bench. She served as a judge until her retirement in 2011. In 1986, she was appointed to lead the Tennessee Sentencing Commission, overseeing an overhaul of the state's sentencing guidelines and criminal code. She also helped found the Lawyers Association for Women. Memorial donations may be made to the Barbara Haynes Scholarship, Harpeth Hall School, 3801 Hobbs Rd. Nashville 37215; Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, 2200 Children’s Way, Nashville 37232; Pencil for Schools, 7199 Cockrill Bend Blvd., Nashville 37209; or a charity of the donor’s choice. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

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