Retired Court of Appeals Judge Richard H. Dinkins died yesterday at the age of 71, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. A native of Nashville, Dinkins earned his undergraduate degree from Denison University in Ohio and then returned to Nashville for law school, graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1977. Dinkins joined state Sen. Avon N. Williams Jr. in practice and they worked together for more than 20 years. During his time in private practice, Dinkins was the lead attorney the Nashville school desegregation cases as well as other high-profile civil rights and discrimination cases. From 2003-2008, he served as a Davidson County chancellor. He joined the Court of Appeals in 2008 and served until his retirement in 2022. Dinkins held leadership positions with a number of legal organizations, including president of the Napier-Looby Bar Association and board member for the Nashville Bar Association. Among his many honors, Dinkins was awarded the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows in 2004. Funeral services will be held on Oct. 21 at First Baptist Church Capitol Hill, 625 Rosa L Parks Blvd., Nashville 37203. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. with the service following at 11 a.m. CDT.

Source: https://www.tba.org/?pg=LawBlog&blAction=showEntry&blogEntry=97218