Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued a Proclamation on July 15 declaring August 2024 as “Justice Roger A. Page” month in honor of the 26 years of outstanding service given by Justice Page to the citizens of Tennessee.
Robert A. Page is a native of Chester County, and grew up on a farm helping his parents raise cotton, soybeans, goats, corn, pigs, chickens and cattle.
He attended a one-room school in rural Chester County from 1961-1963 until he transferred to East Chester Elementary School and later graduated from Chester County High School in 1973 where he was elected Student Council President and voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by his peers.
In 1978, he graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. He attended the University of Memphis law school in 1981, studying during the day and working as a pharmacist at night. He graduated in 1984 receiving high honors ranking fourth in his class.
He served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Tennessee in Jackson and was later sworn in as the circuit court judge for the 26th Judicial District. From 1998 to 2011, he presided over both civil and criminal trials in Chester, Henderson and Madison counties.
Justice Page was selected by Governor Bill Haslam to serve on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in 2011 where he wrote more than 330 appellate opinions. He was later selected by Governor Haslam to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2016 and was unanimously confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly, and he is the first appellate judge to be selected to pursuant to the Constititional amendment approved by the voters of Tennessee in 2014.
“Justice Page leaves a legacy of dedicated and tireless work as a trail judge, as an intermediate appellate judge and as Justice and Chief Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court, with his innate intelligence reflected in his decisions.
“He established a reputation for working to transform and modernize the Court’s administrative organization, encouraged greater transparency and efficiency within the judiciary by live streaming of appellate arguments, improved access to justice through improved technology, promoted pro bono service, managed to minimize budget cuts and as Chief Justice, maintained good working relationships with executive and legislative branches of government, eventually leading to increased compensation for the court-appointed counsel for indigent defendants, all of which promoted and strengthened the judiciary,” the Proclamation reads.
“Justice Page has established a reputation for humility, a sense of humor, leadership, high intellect, and fair-minded adjudication in all matters before him, he exemplifies the highest traits of honesty, impartiality and justice.”
