Otis Higgs was native of the Orange Mound area in Memphis. He was graduate of LeMoyne-Owen and later earned his law degree from the University of Memphis
Judge Otis Higgs was appointed Division 4 Criminal Court Judge in 1970 and served until 1975, when he made the first of three unsuccessful attempts at being elected mayor of Memphis. He was elected criminal court judge in 1998, and served until his death.
In 1968 he was among attorneys who represented people who were arrested during the 1968 sanitation strike in Memphis.
In 1982 he served 82 days as Shelby County TN Sheriff after Sheriff Jack Owens committed suicide. He remained the only black man to have ever served as the county sheriff at the time of his death.
He had been a practicing attorney and Assistant Public Defender. He had also been a commentator on both radio and television as well as serving as a Pastor for the CME Church.
Among awards he received during his life time were "Most Outstanding Lawyer" and "Most Outstanding Judge".
He had a reputation for treating everyone with kindness and respect in the courtroom, no matter which side they were on or the reason they were there..
(bio by Linda Wayman)
_________________________
As a boy he was raised by his grandparents in Orange Mound. From an early age he would ride with his grandfather selling vegetables from a wagon on the street. At age 16 he received a scholarship from Morehouse College but had to drop out due to financial issues.
Over the next several years he worked as a Pullman railroad Car Porter, a yard man, a factory worker, a painter, a laborer, a busboy and a waiter at the Memphis Country Club. He saved his money and in 1957 we walked into the business office of Lemoyne College with 35 pay checks from the Country Club. He said “I want to go to college” During the course of his life he never ever considered himself as a politician.
He taught school for six years while attending college First Lemoyne then Memphis State Law School. In 1967 he became a deputy clerk in the Shelby County Court system. In 1970 he was appointed by Governor Buford Ellington to fill a vacancy on the Shelby County Criminal Court. He was re-elected in 1972 and worked until 1975 when he resigned to run for mayor. He would actually run for mayor three times.
Judge Higgs was nationally recognized as an expert on first offender probation and sentencing.
He was an ordained minister and the first black criminal court judge in the State of Tennessee.
He was a Mason and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity
As an attorney he represented Sanitation workers and other city employees both in Memphis and Jackson Tennessee.
One of his favorite quotes was “ The money behind the Mayor are the ones who hate the Unions “
Provided by Joe Lowry
Judge Otis Higgs was appointed Division 4 Criminal Court Judge in 1970 and served until 1975, when he made the first of three unsuccessful attempts at being elected mayor of Memphis. He was elected criminal court judge in 1998, and served until his death.
In 1968 he was among attorneys who represented people who were arrested during the 1968 sanitation strike in Memphis.
In 1982 he served 82 days as Shelby County TN Sheriff after Sheriff Jack Owens committed suicide. He remained the only black man to have ever served as the county sheriff at the time of his death.
He had been a practicing attorney and Assistant Public Defender. He had also been a commentator on both radio and television as well as serving as a Pastor for the CME Church.
Among awards he received during his life time were "Most Outstanding Lawyer" and "Most Outstanding Judge".
He had a reputation for treating everyone with kindness and respect in the courtroom, no matter which side they were on or the reason they were there..
(bio by Linda Wayman)
_________________________
As a boy he was raised by his grandparents in Orange Mound. From an early age he would ride with his grandfather selling vegetables from a wagon on the street. At age 16 he received a scholarship from Morehouse College but had to drop out due to financial issues.
Over the next several years he worked as a Pullman railroad Car Porter, a yard man, a factory worker, a painter, a laborer, a busboy and a waiter at the Memphis Country Club. He saved his money and in 1957 we walked into the business office of Lemoyne College with 35 pay checks from the Country Club. He said “I want to go to college” During the course of his life he never ever considered himself as a politician.
He taught school for six years while attending college First Lemoyne then Memphis State Law School. In 1967 he became a deputy clerk in the Shelby County Court system. In 1970 he was appointed by Governor Buford Ellington to fill a vacancy on the Shelby County Criminal Court. He was re-elected in 1972 and worked until 1975 when he resigned to run for mayor. He would actually run for mayor three times.
Judge Higgs was nationally recognized as an expert on first offender probation and sentencing.
He was an ordained minister and the first black criminal court judge in the State of Tennessee.
He was a Mason and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity
As an attorney he represented Sanitation workers and other city employees both in Memphis and Jackson Tennessee.
One of his favorite quotes was “ The money behind the Mayor are the ones who hate the Unions “
Provided by Joe Lowry
Otis Higgs was native of the Orange Mound area in Memphis. He was graduate of LeMoyne-Owen and later earned his law degree from the University of Memphis
Judge Otis Higgs was appointed Division 4 Criminal Court Judge in 1970 and served until 1975, when he made the first of three unsuccessful attempts at being elected mayor of Memphis. He was elected criminal court judge in 1998, and served until his death.
In 1968 he was among attorneys who represented people who were arrested during the 1968 sanitation strike in Memphis.
In 1982 he served 82 days as Shelby County TN Sheriff after Sheriff Jack Owens committed suicide. He remained the only black man to have ever served as the county sheriff at the time of his death.
He had been a practicing attorney and Assistant Public Defender. He had also been a commentator on both radio and television as well as serving as a Pastor for the CME Church.
Among awards he received during his life time were "Most Outstanding Lawyer" and "Most Outstanding Judge".
He had a reputation for treating everyone with kindness and respect in the courtroom, no matter which side they were on or the reason they were there..
(bio by Linda Wayman)
_________________________
As a boy he was raised by his grandparents in Orange Mound. From an early age he would ride with his grandfather selling vegetables from a wagon on the street. At age 16 he received a scholarship from Morehouse College but had to drop out due to financial issues.
Over the next several years he worked as a Pullman railroad Car Porter, a yard man, a factory worker, a painter, a laborer, a busboy and a waiter at the Memphis Country Club. He saved his money and in 1957 we walked into the business office of Lemoyne College with 35 pay checks from the Country Club. He said “I want to go to college” During the course of his life he never ever considered himself as a politician.
He taught school for six years while attending college First Lemoyne then Memphis State Law School. In 1967 he became a deputy clerk in the Shelby County Court system. In 1970 he was appointed by Governor Buford Ellington to fill a vacancy on the Shelby County Criminal Court. He was re-elected in 1972 and worked until 1975 when he resigned to run for mayor. He would actually run for mayor three times.
Judge Higgs was nationally recognized as an expert on first offender probation and sentencing.
He was an ordained minister and the first black criminal court judge in the State of Tennessee.
He was a Mason and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity
As an attorney he represented Sanitation workers and other city employees both in Memphis and Jackson Tennessee.
One of his favorite quotes was “ The money behind the Mayor are the ones who hate the Unions “
Provided by Joe Lowry
Judge Otis Higgs was appointed Division 4 Criminal Court Judge in 1970 and served until 1975, when he made the first of three unsuccessful attempts at being elected mayor of Memphis. He was elected criminal court judge in 1998, and served until his death.
In 1968 he was among attorneys who represented people who were arrested during the 1968 sanitation strike in Memphis.
In 1982 he served 82 days as Shelby County TN Sheriff after Sheriff Jack Owens committed suicide. He remained the only black man to have ever served as the county sheriff at the time of his death.
He had been a practicing attorney and Assistant Public Defender. He had also been a commentator on both radio and television as well as serving as a Pastor for the CME Church.
Among awards he received during his life time were "Most Outstanding Lawyer" and "Most Outstanding Judge".
He had a reputation for treating everyone with kindness and respect in the courtroom, no matter which side they were on or the reason they were there..
(bio by Linda Wayman)
_________________________
As a boy he was raised by his grandparents in Orange Mound. From an early age he would ride with his grandfather selling vegetables from a wagon on the street. At age 16 he received a scholarship from Morehouse College but had to drop out due to financial issues.
Over the next several years he worked as a Pullman railroad Car Porter, a yard man, a factory worker, a painter, a laborer, a busboy and a waiter at the Memphis Country Club. He saved his money and in 1957 we walked into the business office of Lemoyne College with 35 pay checks from the Country Club. He said “I want to go to college” During the course of his life he never ever considered himself as a politician.
He taught school for six years while attending college First Lemoyne then Memphis State Law School. In 1967 he became a deputy clerk in the Shelby County Court system. In 1970 he was appointed by Governor Buford Ellington to fill a vacancy on the Shelby County Criminal Court. He was re-elected in 1972 and worked until 1975 when he resigned to run for mayor. He would actually run for mayor three times.
Judge Higgs was nationally recognized as an expert on first offender probation and sentencing.
He was an ordained minister and the first black criminal court judge in the State of Tennessee.
He was a Mason and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity
As an attorney he represented Sanitation workers and other city employees both in Memphis and Jackson Tennessee.
One of his favorite quotes was “ The money behind the Mayor are the ones who hate the Unions “
Provided by Joe Lowry
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