Senior U.S. District Judge over East TN dies after more than 30 years on the bench

senior u.s. district judge over east tn dies after more than 30 years on the bench

Senior U.S. District Judge over East TN dies after more than 30 years on the bench

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A senior judge in the Eastern District of Tennessee has died after nearly four decades on the bench.

Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Leon Jordan, 89, died on February 27. Before becoming a judge, Jordan served in the United States Army from 1954 until 1956. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1958 with a B.S. and he earned his J.D. in 1960 from the University of Tennessee College of Law.

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“The judges of the Eastern District of Tennessee will forever remember him as a hard-working and fair jurist and a helpful, quick-witted, and supportive colleague. Members of the bar will also fondly remember him for his habit of consistently starting court a few minutes earlier than scheduled,” wrote the court in a release.

Jordan began practicing law in Nashville before becoming a partner at the law firm of Bryant, Price, Brandt, Jordan and Fox in Johnson City in 1971. He was appointed to Tennessee’s Chancery Court in 1980 by Governor Lamar Alexander. He was elected to a full term in 1982.

In 1988, he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to succeed Judge Robert L. Taylor. He was officially sworn in on November 15, 1988, and he has served as a senior judge since November 30, 2001. According to the court, he “capably maintained an active docket until just a few months ago.”

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The court outlined several significant civil and criminal matters during his time on the federal bench including a jury trial involving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation following the failures of Butcher banks that lasted 99 days.

“He championed the cause of the acquisition and building of the Howard H. Baker, Jr. United States Courthouse in Knoxville in the 1990s. Judge Jordan served for several years as chairman of the planning committee of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, which honored him in June 2001 for his leadership. At the Judicial Conference in 2004, he was elected president of the Sixth Circuit District Judges Association. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Federal Bar Association of the Court’s Northeastern Division. In December 2014, he was presented the Judicial Excellence Award by the Knoxville Bar Association.”

Release from the United States District Court Eastern District of Tennessee

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Jordan’s wife of 67 years, Dottie, died at 91 just over two months before this death.

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