Curtis L. Collier grew up poor in rural Arkansas during segregation. This week he stood in the courtroom of the U.S. Supreme Court as the newest winner of the Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award, the highest honor a federal judge can receive.

The ceremony was opened by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. before about 100 invited guests. He praised Collier for mentoring the next generation of judges and for teaching civics inside and outside the courts, work he said has raised public trust in the judiciary and strengthened the rule of law. Roberts added that the award's legacy could not rest with a finer judge.

Making history in Tennessee

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who chaired the selection committee, reminded the room why the moment mattered. Collier was the first Black federal judge ever seated in East Tennessee's federal district and years later became its first Black chief judge.

Jackson called his 31 years on the bench a career built on integrity, excellence, leadership and steady devotion to justice and service.

From Arkansas to the bench

Collier's road ran through Tennessee State University, a historically Black university in Nashville, then Duke Law School. He wore the uniform as an officer in the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps before working as a federal prosecutor in Louisiana and Tennessee.

President Bill Clinton appointed him to the federal bench in 1995. He led the district as chief judge from 2005 to 2012, took senior status in 2014 and has kept hearing cases ever since. He also sat on the governing board of the Federal Judicial Center, the agency that trains judges across the country.

A humble thank you

Collier spoke with quiet modesty. He told the packed courtroom that serving as a district judge has been his life's greatest honor and that as a boy he looked up to federal judges without ever imagining he might become one.

He said the job has only deepened his respect for the country's constitutional democracy and for the courts' place in a government of laws. Being recognized by fellow judges for work he loves, he said, means more than words can say.

The award is presented each year by the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation with support from the Supreme Court. Foundation leaders said Collier's life reflects public service at its finest and brings real humanity to the work of justice.