Category Former Chief Justices

Justice Pariente’s legal and judicial career has spanned over 50 years. She retired from the Florida Supreme Court in 2019, ending a 21 year career as a Supreme Court Justice, including a 2 year term as Chief Justice.  After a…

Thomas R. Phillips is the third longest-serving chief justice in Texas Supreme Court history, having been appointed to that position in early 1988 and then elected and re-elected in 1988,1990, 1996, and 2002. Before joining the Supreme Court, he served…

Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz (Ret.) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree Magna Cum Laude from Brooklyn College in 1958, having been elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1957. In 1958…

Mark E. Recktenwald served as Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court from September 14, 2010 until his retirement on October 1, 2025. He joined the court as an Associate Justice in May, 2009, and previously served as Chief Judge…

Judge Laura Denvir Stith was born in St. Louis. She graduated, with honors, from John Burroughs School in 1971. A National Merit Scholar, she attended Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from Tufts with honors in 1975, receiving a…

Marsha Ternus was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 1993. Members of the court selected her as the court’s first woman chief justice in 2006. Her term on the court expired on December 31, 2010, after she and two…