TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on May 15, 2023

Retired Carthage attorney and former Smith County General Sessions Judge Joe P. Lane Jr. died May 10. A 1968 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Lane joined the Army and served in Vietnam followed by reserve duty until 1974. He then joined the law office of former Smith County judge and attorney Clint Beasley. Following the death of Beasley in 1979, Lane continued the law practice until 2000. Among his other accomplishments, Lane served as assistant commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Securities and Commerce under former Gov. Ned Ray McWherter and served as Smith County General Sessions judge. A service was held Saturday with burial at Evergreen Cemetery in Murfreesboro. The family requests that memorial donations be made to the Carthage United Methodist Church Building Fund, 608 Main St. N. #1212, Carthage, TN 37030.