JUSTICE JOSEPH WARD HENRY Tennessee Supreme Court 1974
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In Memory of JUSTICE JOSEPH WARD HENRY om eee eee ee ee Tennessee Supreme Court ee eee eee 1974-1980 ee President, Tennessee Bar Association N-1971 esa — — Remarks of To live honorably; To injure no other man; Tennessee Supreme To render every man his due.” Court Justice Because he believed and practiced those precepts, Joseph W. Henry of Ray L Brock, Jr. Pulaski will long be remembered. He left his mark! He will be remembered as an able, a distinguished jurist—one who believed in justice for every individual and had compassion for the unfortunate and We are shocked and deeply saddened underprivileged. by the sudden, unexpected death of our He sought to even the odds for brother, Mr. Justice Joe Henry. women, black people, children and the We who served with him on the Su- mentally ill. He had a commitment to preme Court had the highest respect and justice. warmest affection for Justice Henry. His His opinions were thoroughly re- passing has left a void on the bench and searched and carefully documented. at our conference table that will not soon They sparkled with his colorful langu- be filled. age. Often they were laced with his Centuries ago, Justinian wrote: wit— sometimes even a little humorous. He loved to write what he referred to as “Justice is the earnest and constant “definitive opinions” on issues of current will to render every man his due. interest, especially of criminal law. In The precepts of law are these: these he would go as far back as a cen- 8 TENNESSEE BAR JOURNAL tury or more and give the historical stand in the years to come as a monu- development of the question, discussing ment to the vision, the energy, the dozens of relevant decisions, pro and determination and optimism of Justice me me con. He had a commitment to excellence. Henry. He had a commitment to reform. \RY On numerous occasions he filed dis- He thoroughly enjoyed his position as senting opinions—on principles which he a member of the court. He loved to joust regarded as fundamental. He would with counsel during the presentation of not—could not—compromise. He added oral argument—especially with attor- richly to the legal literature of this neys who were old friends of his. One of State. his delights was to state a conclusion in ee ee He painted with broad, sweeping opposition to the contention of the attor- strokes, sometimes causing some of us, ney and say: “Now, Counselor, how are his colleagues, to lodge a friendly com- you going to get around that?” plaint that he was saying more than was Joe Henry was a proud man—proud of necessary to decide the case at hand— his profession, his country and Tennes- omy omy that he was running out of bounds to see. But, most of all, he was proud of his tion make a touchdown. If this resulted in his family, his dear wife and helpmate, removing some language from the opin- “Miss Marjorie,” his sons and daughters- ion, he would good naturedly assure us in-law, his grandchildren and _ his that the deleted material would go into a brothers and sisters and their families. collection of su¢h deletions to be pub- He was proud that his two sons, Joe, Jr. lished later under the title “The Best of and Bob, two of his brothers, Jim and Joe.” Jack, Jim’s son, Jim, Jr., and his wife, He left his mark not only upon the jur- Vanessa, all are lawyers. He relished his isprudence of this State, but, also upon role as the head of an illustrious family of the profession, the court system and its lawyers. A color photograph of all seven rules of practice and procedure. Henry lawyers, standing hand in hand at He was a principal architect of, and the Judicial Conference last year, was an; the driving force in putting into effect, hung in his office. One of them wore a his due.” many reforms. Just a few of these were: white suit, a Henry trademark, but it d and practiced was not Joe, it was Jim. I teased him— A new code of judicial conduct. that Jim had upstaged him. He replied, yh W. Henry of Rule 42—A statewide organized 1embered. with a grin, “You can’t win ’em all.” system for handling grievances Justice Henry was committed to hard against attorneys. work. He approached every task with red as an able, a New rules of practice and pro- me who believed the greatest urgency. The American cedure in criminal cases. dividual and had “work ethic” was deeply ingrained in New rules of appellate procedure. unfortunate and him. He seemed to live and work by a The Tennessee judicial informa- different time table. He was impati- tion system —a computer-based sys- ent—everything should have been done 1 the odds for tem for following a case from filing children and the yesterday —or, at the very least, today. to conclusion. 2 commitment to The court should decide an issue—even Establishment of a committee to if not ripe for decision by customary give advisory ethics opinions to thoroughly re- judicial standards. He seemed to fear members of the Bar. lly documented. that it might not return in time for him A lawyer advertising rule. is colorful langu- to “write on it.” He reminded me of the A commission to study and pro- 2 laced with his farmer in Robert Frost’s great poem, pose a plan for specialization by at- . little humorous. mS “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Eve- torneys. he referred to as ning,” who did not have time to watch _ issues of current Although many people contributed the woods fill up with snow in the beau- criminal law. In toward the accomplishment of these tiful New England twilight, but felt com- ar back as a cen- reforms, in a very real sense, they will pelled to push on, lamenting: BAR JOURNAL AUGUST “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, John F. Kennedy, in his Pulitzer-prize But [ have promises to keep winning book, Profiles in Courage, And miles to go before I sleep, wrote: “The courage of life is often a less And miles to go before I sleep.” dramatic spectacle than the courage of a Tennessee has lost a great leader— final moment; but it is no less a magnifi- A man with a record of solid achieve- cent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A ment —as a distinguished judge, man does what he must, in spite of per- ‘An illustrious lawyer, sonal consequences, in spite of obstacles A military leader, and dangers and pressures, and that is An adviser of governors, the basis of all human morality.” A gifted orator, Joe Henry encountered obstacles A colorful writer. throughout his life—and he hurdled We mourn his passing. them. Joe Henry met danger in his We salute his accomplishments! life— particularly on the battlefields of Tennesseans will long remember the Italy in World War II, and his gallantry name of Joseph W. Henry with the high- in action was rewarded by the medals he est respect and warmest affection. deservedly wore on the uniform of his country. Joe Henry knew pressures in his life—the pressures of defending the property rights, the liberty, and yes, Remarks of Jerome even the lives, of his clients—and the pressures of deciding the great issues of Abernathy, Pulaski Bar our day as a member of the Court of Last Association Resort of our state. He faced those. pres- sures—and he conquered them. Joe We come today to pay tribute to the Henry was, by every test, a moral man memory of a beloved friend, Mr. Justice of courage and character. Joe W. Henry, and it is meet and right I remember Joe Henry as a busy, that we do so in this place —in this his- involved lawyer, but one who was never toric chamber where he began his career too busy nor involved to offer his enthu- of public service to the people of Tennes- siastic encouragement to a younger see as the State Representative. from lawyer—one who was ever ready and Giles County to the General Assembly. eager to point young lawyers along the But the signal and unique achievements proper paths to professional advance- of Joe Henry's record of service to the ment. I remember a Judge Joe Henry, citizenry of his native Volunteer State— who, it seemed, was constantly on the which he loved so well—service as a go, speaking at law schools and seminars Legislator, as a soldier, as the Com- to further the cause of justice, and to manding General of the National Guard, enrich and ennoble the profession he and as a brilliant lawyer and, I believe, loved. an immortal jurist—all these have been And, I remember Joe Henry—my duly chronicled and each of you are fully friend and neighbor—a man of warmth cognizant of his contributions to our so- and wit. We all recall an assertive, ciety. aggressive Joe Henry. But I recall the So it is that I come today to speak of then Chief Justice of our state strolling Joe Henry—the man I knew, whose down the tree-lined street which runs by courage and character I respected and his home with a firm but gentle and lov- admired: Joe Henry—my brother law- ing grip on the small hand of his lovely yer, whose counsel and advice I fre- granddaughter, and delighting in every quently sought and freely received: and second of her company.