NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen’s appointment Monday of state Appeals Court Judge Sharon Gail Lee to the Tennessee Supreme Court gives women their first majority ever on the five-member panel but continues to leave the state with no black justices on its highest court.

The governor named Judge Lee, 54, of Madisonville, who is white, to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Tennessee Chief Justice William M. “Mickey” Barker of Signal Mountain, who recently stepped down.

The other two finalists for the seat were Chattanooga attorney John W. McClarty, who is black, and Kingsport attorney Bruce Shine, who is white.

It is the first time in a decade that someone from Hamilton County has not been on the state Supreme Court.

“Sharon has served with distinction on the Court of Appeals, and I am confident she will bring the same level of honor and integrity to the Tennessee Supreme Court,” Gov. Bredesen said in a news release.

Gov. Bredesen had named Ms. Lee to the Eastern Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals in 2004. Her best-known action on the appellate court was to write last year’s opinion that declared Tennessee’s so-called “crack tax,” which taxes illegal drugs, to be illegal.

Mr. McClarty, 60, said he thinks Gov. Bredesen was influenced by Judge Lee’s four years of experience on the appellate court.

“That’s only my opinion,” Mr. McClarty said. “Lee has done a magnificent job in the Court of Appeals since she’s been there. I’ve got a lot of trial experience, but I don’t have a lot of experience in the Court of Appeals.”

As for the fact that no blacks currently serve on the state Supreme Court, Mr. McClarty said, “I’m not going to even begin to talk about a situation like that. I think the governor considered who he thought was the best candidate. ... I think I was very seriously considered by the governor.”

In his application, Mr. McClarty noted that he thought his service on the Tennessee Supreme Court “will be of assistance in bringing diversity” to that panel.

The new justice is Gov. Brededsen’s fourth appointment to the five-member court. In 2006, the state’s only black justice serving then, Adolpho A. Birch, retired from the court. No black currently serves on the court.

Judge Lee said in a statement that she understands the “impact the court has on the lives of those who come before it. I will approach this new role with the recognition of how important it is that decisions be well-reasoned, grounded in the law, legally correct and issued in a timely manner.”

The University of Tennessee College of Law graduate began practicing in 1978 and had worked in several law partnerships and also as a solo practitioner.

Mr. McClarty obtained his law degree from Southern University and began practicing law in 1976. He has not served as a full-time judge, although he has filled in from time to time as a judge on Hamilton County General Sessions Court and at Chattanooga City Court.

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