Gov. Phil Bredesen has appointed Davidson County Chancery Court Chancellor Richard H. Dinkins, ’77, to fill the vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Middle Section, created by the death of Judge William Bryan Cain in September.

Dinkins had served as Part IV Chancellor since 2003. After earning his J.D. at Vanderbilt, he spent 18 years in private practice with the law firm headed by prominent late civil rights advocate, litigator and State Sen. Avon M. Williams Jr.

Dinkins was a member of Dodson, Parker, Dinkins and Behm from 1999 to 2003. In that role, he was counsel to the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency and Fisk University.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be appointed by Governor Bredesen to serve the state as a member of the Tennessee Court of Appeals,” Dinkins said in the release issued buy the Office of the Governor. “I have devoted my career to securing equal justice under the law for all segments of society. It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of my predecessor, Judge Cain, and I look forward to continuing my career in public service in this new role.”

Dinkins has received the Freedom Fighter Medal from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, and was awarded the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the Tennessee Bar Association in 2004. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Bar Association, and is also on the Board of Trustees at First Baptist Capitol Hill Church.

“Richard Dinkins has developed extensive experience in his career with the Davidson County Chancery Court and in the private sector,” Bredesen said in a statement issued by the Office of the Governor, “and I am confident that he will serve the Tennessee Court of Appeals with honor and integrity.”