TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 3, 2023

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William Muecke Barker died Monday morning at the age of 81. Barker, from Chattanooga, spent 25 years on the judicial bench and 10 as a justice on the state Supreme Court. His experience included service with the Deetsen Firm, as circuit court judge in Hamilton County and on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. He was named to the Supreme Court in 1998 and retired in 2008. He then joined the Chambliss Law Firm, where he served until fully retiring in 2021. Barker is a former president of the Chattanooga Trial Lawyers Association and is a fellow of both the Chattanooga Bar Foundation and the Tennessee Bar Foundation. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on his life. Funeral details are pending.