Born in Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee, he was the third of six children of Allison Battle Humphreys (1876-1963) and Maude Dixon Sperry (1882-1954).
[4] On January 22, 1960, Humphreys was appointed by Governor Buford Ellington to a seat on the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
[1] On April 27, 1967, Ellington elevated Humphreys to a seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court vacated by the death of Justice W. G.
[1][3] Humphreys was elected to a full term in 1968,[1][3] defeating his challenger, Domestic Relations Judge Benton Trimble, by a vote of 200,852 to 111,387.
[1][3] In 1984, Humphreys sat as a special justice to hear cases challenging state taxes on flea markets and computer software.