William Fones
Encyclopedia
William H. D. Fones was an American
jurist who served on the state supreme court of Tennessee
.
Fones was born in 1917 in Friendship, Tennessee
. He moved to Memphis with his family during the Depression
. In Memphis he was educated at Messick High School
and West Tennessee State Teachers College, which later became the University of Memphis
. After college he studied law at the University of Tennessee
, graduating before the United States entered World War II
. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor
he enlisted in the U.S. Army, becoming a bomber
pilot
for the Fifth Army Air Force
and flying 90 combat mission
s in the Pacific.
Upon returning to civilian life after World War II, Fones commenced the private practice of law in Memphis. He spent 25 years with the firm of Rosenfield, Borod, Fones, Bogatin & Kremer, leaving in 1971 to assume a circuit court
judgeship.
In 1973, Fones was appointed an associate justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court
by governor Winfield Dunn
, a Republican
. In 1974, after the Tennessee General Assembly
repealed the law adopting the Modified Missouri Plan for appointment of state supreme court judges, a partisan
election was held for all five seats on the court. Fones, who declared himself a political independent, stood for election and became the only incumbent among five candidates endorsed by the Democratic Party
. The Democratic slate won the election
and Fones was to remain on the court until his retirement in 1990, including service as Chief Justice.
Fones' tenure on the Tennessee Supreme Court is considered to have been a progressive period for the court. The court modernized Tennessee law, introducing new rules of evidence
and new procedures for criminal and appellate court
s, and it convinced the Tennessee General Assembly
to establish a public defender
system. Among its decisions were rulings that overturned statutes found to impose a gender bias, including a law requiring married women to take their husbands' surnames and provisions of workers' compensation
statutes that directed that male surviving spouses be treated differently from female surviving spouses. Other noteworthy decisions expanded the right to sue
for negligence
, upheld a state open meetings law, threw out Tennessee's death penalty law due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that had found mandatory death penalties to be unconstitutional, established that judges deciding child custody
cases should consider the “best interest of the child,” and upheld a ban on the practice of snake handling
during religious services.
Fones was married for more than 50 years to the former Rebecca Barr, who died in 2000. They had two children.
Fones died in Memphis on December 23, 2010, following a long illness.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurist who served on the state supreme court of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
Fones was born in 1917 in Friendship, Tennessee
Friendship, Tennessee
Friendship is a city in Crockett County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 668 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Friendship is located at ....
. He moved to Memphis with his family during the Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. In Memphis he was educated at Messick High School
Messick High School
Messick High School was a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee, established in 1908 and operated from 1909 to 1981. The main building was demolished in 1982, but Memphis City Schools uses some other former Messick facilities to house the Messick Adult Education Center.Messick High School was...
and West Tennessee State Teachers College, which later became the University of Memphis
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....
. After college he studied law at the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, graduating before the United States entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
he enlisted in the U.S. Army, becoming a bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
for the Fifth Army Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
and flying 90 combat mission
Combat mission
Combat mission may refer to:*Military operation, the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation*Combat Mission , the name of a successful series of computer games simulating tactical battles...
s in the Pacific.
Upon returning to civilian life after World War II, Fones commenced the private practice of law in Memphis. He spent 25 years with the firm of Rosenfield, Borod, Fones, Bogatin & Kremer, leaving in 1971 to assume a circuit court
Circuit court
Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...
judgeship.
In 1973, Fones was appointed an associate justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court
Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the state of Tennessee. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the...
by governor Winfield Dunn
Winfield Dunn
Bryant Winfield Culberson Dunn was the 43rd Governor of Tennessee, from 1971 to 1975.-Biography:Dunn was born in Meridian, Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1950 with a B.B.A., and from the University of Tennessee Medical Units in Memphis in 1955 with a D.D.S. Dunn...
, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. In 1974, after the Tennessee General Assembly
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...
repealed the law adopting the Modified Missouri Plan for appointment of state supreme court judges, a partisan
Party system
A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country. The idea is that political parties have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal...
election was held for all five seats on the court. Fones, who declared himself a political independent, stood for election and became the only incumbent among five candidates endorsed by the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. The Democratic slate won the election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
and Fones was to remain on the court until his retirement in 1990, including service as Chief Justice.
Fones' tenure on the Tennessee Supreme Court is considered to have been a progressive period for the court. The court modernized Tennessee law, introducing new rules of evidence
Rules of evidence
Rules of evidence govern whether, when, how, and for what purpose, proof of a legal case may be placed before a trier of fact for consideration....
and new procedures for criminal and appellate court
Appellate court
An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...
s, and it convinced the Tennessee General Assembly
Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...
to establish a public defender
Public defender
The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...
system. Among its decisions were rulings that overturned statutes found to impose a gender bias, including a law requiring married women to take their husbands' surnames and provisions of workers' compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
statutes that directed that male surviving spouses be treated differently from female surviving spouses. Other noteworthy decisions expanded the right to sue
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
for negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
, upheld a state open meetings law, threw out Tennessee's death penalty law due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that had found mandatory death penalties to be unconstitutional, established that judges deciding child custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
cases should consider the “best interest of the child,” and upheld a ban on the practice of snake handling
Snake handling
Snake handling or serpent handling is a religious ritual in a small number of Pentecostal churches in the U.S., usually characterized as rural and Holiness. The practice began in the early 20th century in Appalachia, spreading to mostly coal mining towns. The practice plays only a small part of...
during religious services.
Fones was married for more than 50 years to the former Rebecca Barr, who died in 2000. They had two children.
Fones died in Memphis on December 23, 2010, following a long illness.