A. A. Birch, Jr.

Adolpho A. Birch Jr. (September 22, 1932 – August 25, 2011) was an American lawyer and judge who was the first African American to serve as Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Early life Birch was born in Washington, D.C. in 1932 and grew up in that city, the son of an Episcopal priest who was widowed early and subsequently raised his son as a single parent. His father's professional concerns for his parishioners left Birch with much time on his own, and he often raised small amounts of money for himself by picking up soft drink bottles for their deposit values, and generally learned to function independently.

Birch graduated from Washington's well-known Dunbar High School in 1950. After high school he attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania from 1950 to 1952. He then attended Howard University in Washington, where he earned the Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees, serving on the law review 1954-56 and graduating in 1956. A Naval Reservist, he served on active duty 1956–1958.

Pre-judicial career Birch then moved to Nashville, where he taught medical law at Meharry Medical College and law at Fisk University and Tennessee State A&I University. During this time (1958–1963), Birch also maintained a private law practice. He had battled cancer since 2004, when he first received a cancer diagnosis and took a leave of absence from the Supreme Court to undergo treatment.

The A. A. Birch Criminal Justice Building in downtown Nashville, completed in 2006 to house Davidson County Criminal Courts, was dedicated in his honor in June 2006. A bust of Birch is displayed in the entrance of the Tennessee Supreme Court Building in Nashville. He also joined Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity while in college.

His son, Adolpho A. Birch III, graduated from the Harvard Law school and went on to work in the league office of the National Football League. Birch III now works for the Tennessee Titans as Senior Vice President and Chief External & League Affairs Officer.