Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SJR0145 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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4	4	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 145
5	5	By McNally
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8	8	SJR0145
9	9	000094
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12	12	A RESOLUTION to honor the memory of W.J. Michael Cody of
13	13	Memphis.
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15	15	WHEREAS, the members of this General Assembly were deeply saddened to learn of
16	16	the death of W.J. Michael Cody of Memphis, a highly respected attorney and public servant who
17	17	was known as a model of integrity, fairness, and courage; and
18	18	WHEREAS, a former Attorney General and Reporter for the State of Tennessee,
19	19	Michael Cody also served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee
20	20	and, as a young attorney, represented Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during his 1968 visit to
21	21	Memphis to support the striking sanitation workers; and
22	22	WHEREAS, born on March 13, 1936, in Memphis, Mr. Cody was educated in the public
23	23	schools of Memphis, received his Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from Rhodes College
24	24	in 1958, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in
25	25	1961; and
26	26	WHEREAS, a military veteran, he ably served his nation as a member of the United
27	27	States Army Reserve, where he attained the rank of First Lieutenant; and
28	28	WHEREAS, a partner at Burch Porter & Johnson since 1961, Mr. Cody was instrumental
29	29	in the legal team representing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work in Memphis, successfully
30	30	convincing a judge to lift an injunction preventing the strikers from marching; he met with the
31	31	civil rights leader at the Lorraine Motel not long before Dr. King was assassinated on the
32	32	balcony outside his hotel room; and
33	33	WHEREAS, following Dr. King's death, Mr. Cody and Pastor James Lawson formed a
34	34	neighborhood legal services operation to offer free aid to the sanitation workers. The idea
35	35	blossomed into the organization now known as Memphis Legal Services; and
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40	40	WHEREAS, seeking to improve the lives of his fellow Memphians, Mike Cody offered
41	41	himself for public service and won election to an at-large seat on the Memphis City Council in
42	42	1975 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Memphis in 1982; and
43	43	WHEREAS, in 1977, he was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the
44	44	United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee; as the chief federal prosecutor in
45	45	West Tennessee, he played a prominent role in the prosecution and conviction of corruption
46	46	charges against a number of powerful and prominent public officials at both the State and local
47	47	levels; and
48	48	WHEREAS, in 1984, Michael Cody was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to
49	49	serve as Attorney General and Reporter for the State of Tennessee, during which time he
50	50	argued four cases before the United States Supreme Court; and
51	51	WHEREAS, he served with distinction on a number of State entities, including the
52	52	Tennessee Code Commission, the Tennessee Judicial Council, and the Tennessee Sentencing
53	53	Commission; and
54	54	WHEREAS, the co-author of the 1992 book Honest Government: An Ethics Guide for
55	55	Public Service, Mike Cody was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to serve as co-chair of the
56	56	Tennessee Commission on Ethics to recommend revisions to state ethics laws in 2005; and
57	57	WHEREAS, an esteemed member of the legal profession, Mr. Cody was a member of
58	58	the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association, the American
59	59	Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity; and
60	60	WHEREAS, he was a former member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of
61	61	United States Attorneys, the Southern Association of Attorneys General, and the National
62	62	Association of Attorneys General; and
63	63	WHEREAS, no stranger to awards and accolades, Mike Cody received a number of
64	64	national and local honors and served on the boards of many significant organizations, including
65	65	the National Civil Rights Museum and the Memphis in May International Festival; and
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70	70	WHEREAS, a gentleman of many pursuits, Mr. Cody was an avid runner who logged
71	71	more than 80,000 miles and participated in more than a dozen Boston Marathons; he once
72	72	completed a two-day, seventy-mile run along the Appalachian Trail; and
73	73	WHEREAS, a member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Mike Cody was captain of
74	74	the track and basketball teams at East High School in Memphis and ran cross country and
75	75	played basketball at Rhodes College; and
76	76	WHEREAS, Mike Cody enjoyed the loving companionship of his beloved wife of forty-
77	77	two years, Suzanna Marten Cody. He was the proud father of two daughters, Jane Cody and
78	78	Mia Cody, and a son, Michael Cody, and loving grandfather of three grandchildren and two
79	79	great-grandchildren; and
80	80	WHEREAS, committed to the highest ideals of public service, Mike Cody leaves behind
81	81	an indelible legacy of integrity and probity in public life, compassion and loyalty in private life,
82	82	and diligence and dedication in all his chosen endeavors; and
83	83	WHEREAS, it is fitting that this General Assembly should pause to remember the
84	84	bountiful life of this exceptional public servant and human being, whose contributions to the
85	85	government and citizens of Tennessee stand as a monument to a job well done; now, therefore,
86	86	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
87	87	GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
88	88	REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we honor the memory of W.J. Michael Cody,
89	89	reflecting fondly upon his impeccable character and his stalwart commitment to living the
90	90	examined life with courage and conviction.
91	91	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we express our sympathy and offer our condolences
92	92	to the family of Mr. Cody.
93	93	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
94	94	for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
95	95	the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
96	96	without House or Senate designation.
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