<BillNo> <Sponsor>
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 145
By McNally
SJR0145
000094
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A RESOLUTION to honor the memory of W.J. Michael Cody of
Memphis.
WHEREAS, the members of this General Assembly were deeply saddened to learn of
the death of W.J. Michael Cody of Memphis, a highly respected attorney and public servant who
was known as a model of integrity, fairness, and courage; and
WHEREAS, a former Attorney General and Reporter for the State of Tennessee,
Michael Cody also served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee
and, as a young attorney, represented Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during his 1968 visit to
Memphis to support the striking sanitation workers; and
WHEREAS, born on March 13, 1936, in Memphis, Mr. Cody was educated in the public
schools of Memphis, received his Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from Rhodes College
in 1958, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in
1961; and
WHEREAS, a military veteran, he ably served his nation as a member of the United
States Army Reserve, where he attained the rank of First Lieutenant; and
WHEREAS, a partner at Burch Porter & Johnson since 1961, Mr. Cody was instrumental
in the legal team representing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work in Memphis, successfully
convincing a judge to lift an injunction preventing the strikers from marching; he met with the
civil rights leader at the Lorraine Motel not long before Dr. King was assassinated on the
balcony outside his hotel room; and
WHEREAS, following Dr. King's death, Mr. Cody and Pastor James Lawson formed a
neighborhood legal services operation to offer free aid to the sanitation workers. The idea
blossomed into the organization now known as Memphis Legal Services; and
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WHEREAS, seeking to improve the lives of his fellow Memphians, Mike Cody offered
himself for public service and won election to an at-large seat on the Memphis City Council in
1975 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Memphis in 1982; and
WHEREAS, in 1977, he was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the
United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee; as the chief federal prosecutor in
West Tennessee, he played a prominent role in the prosecution and conviction of corruption
charges against a number of powerful and prominent public officials at both the State and local
levels; and
WHEREAS, in 1984, Michael Cody was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to
serve as Attorney General and Reporter for the State of Tennessee, during which time he
argued four cases before the United States Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS, he served with distinction on a number of State entities, including the
Tennessee Code Commission, the Tennessee Judicial Council, and the Tennessee Sentencing
Commission; and
WHEREAS, the co-author of the 1992 book Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for
Public Service, Mike Cody was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to serve as co-chair of the
Tennessee Commission on Ethics to recommend revisions to state ethics laws in 2005; and
WHEREAS, an esteemed member of the legal profession, Mr. Cody was a member of
the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the American
Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity; and
WHEREAS, he was a former member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of
United States Attorneys, the Southern Association of Attorneys General, and the National
Association of Attorneys General; and
WHEREAS, no stranger to awards and accolades, Mike Cody received a number of
national and local honors and served on the boards of many significant organizations, including
the National Civil Rights Museum and the Memphis in May International Festival; and
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WHEREAS, a gentleman of many pursuits, Mr. Cody was an avid runner who logged
more than 80,000 miles and participated in more than a dozen Boston Marathons; he once
completed a two-day, seventy-mile run along the Appalachian Trail; and
WHEREAS, a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Mike Cody was captain of
the track and basketball teams at East High School in Memphis and ran cross country and
played basketball at Rhodes College; and
WHEREAS, Mike Cody enjoyed the loving companionship of his beloved wife of forty-
two years, Suzanna Marten Cody. He was the proud father of two daughters, Jane Cody and
Mia Cody, and a son, Michael Cody, and loving grandfather of three grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, committed to the highest ideals of public service, Mike Cody leaves behind
an indelible legacy of integrity and probity in public life, compassion and loyalty in private life,
and diligence and dedication in all his chosen endeavors; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting that this General Assembly should pause to remember the
bountiful life of this exceptional public servant and human being, whose contributions to the
government and citizens of Tennessee stand as a monument to a job well done; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we honor the memory of W.J. Michael Cody,
reflecting fondly upon his impeccable character and his stalwart commitment to living the
examined life with courage and conviction.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we express our sympathy and offer our condolences
to the family of Mr. Cody.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
without House or Senate designation.
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