Editorial
Front Page - Friday, April 16, 2010
Federal judge enjoying the best of two worlds
David Laprad
The Honorable R. Allan Edgar is a senior U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. President Ronald Reagan appointed Edgar to the position in 1985.
- David Laprad
There comes a point in life when one faces a choice: continue working or retire. While few people would object to a schedule of late mornings and lazy afternoons, ending decades of service to one’s profession can be a sobering thought.
The Honorable R. Allan Edgar, senior U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee, has figured out a way around this dilemma: partial retirement.
As a senior judge, Edgar has a docket in Chattanooga, albeit a lighter one than when he was on the bench full-time. While this can involve a lot of research and writing, depending on the case, it also leaves Edgar with plenty of time to be with his family, do things outdoors and take up hobbies.
Edgar likes to hit the links, for example, although he doesn’t brag about his game. “I play at it more than I play it,” he says, laughing.
Edgar has also taken up photography, although he downplays his skills with a camera, too. If nothing else, he has a knack for taking fine-looking pictures of his grandchildren. Front and center on a small shelf that contains several unframed prints, leaned untidily against each other, are photos Edgar snapped of two of his grandkids. The pictures, and the children, are striking.
In addition to working in Chattanooga, Edgar has a docket in Marquette, Mich., where he and his wife spend six months out of each year. Located along Lake Superior on the state’s upper peninsula, it’s close to Munising, Mich., where Edgar was born. While there, he hears cases, hikes and fishes.
There have been times in Edgar’s life when the only thing he could fit into his schedule
was work. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, for example, he
was the only federal judge
in Chattanooga. Although the weight on his shoulders was tremendous, he handled some of his most noteworthy cases
during that time.
In 1986, for example, Edgar found that the City of Chattanooga could administer drug tests to firefighters on the basis of reasonable suspicion. That same year, he found portions of a local ordinance regulating adult-oriented establishments to be constitutional.
Three years later, in what Edgar considers his most significant decision, he held that Chattanooga’s at large election of city commissioners violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His verdict resulted in the city switching from a commission to a council form of government.
Then, in 1995, Edgar held constitutional and valid the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s quota rule, which provided that member schools could award financial aid to a limited number of students who played varsity sports.
Edgar says the broad range of issues with which he’s dealt has kept his job interesting. “I’ve never been bored. Every case has been unique. There’s always been a new issue or question to tackle.”
While Edgar is modest when it comes to golf and photography, he does say he believes he’s performed well as a judge. “I feel like I’ve had a positive impact as far as administering the law. In my mind, I’ve done a good job, although I’m sure some people think differently. I’ve dealt with some controversial matters, and in litigation, someone leaves happy and someone leaves unhappy.”
Edgar was born in Munising in 1940; in 1953, he, his parents and two younger brothers moved to Athens, Tenn., where his father had accepted a job as a forester. A graduate of McMinn County High School, Edgar attended Davidson College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1962, and Duke University, where he earned a Bachelor of Laws.
A first lieutenant and then a captain of the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967, Edgar served during the height of the Vietnam War as an Army intelligence officer, receiving a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in 1967.
Upon returning to civilian life, Edgar became a member of the Chattanooga law firm now known as Miller & Martin, where he practiced from 1967 to 1985. During that time, he served one term as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, where he authored and sponsored the Emergency Medical Services Act, establishing statewide minimum standards for emergency equipment and training for emergency personnel. At the appointment of Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander, Edgar served on the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission from 1979 to 1985.
In February 1985, President Ronald Reagan tapped Edgar to fill the seat U.S. District Judge H. Ted Milburn had vacated. The U.S. Senate confirmed him two months later. Edgar served as chief judge from 1998-2005, when he assumed senior status.
In addition to serving on the bench, Edgar has been active in the Episcopal Church, serving twice as senior warden of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Lookout Mountain. (He currently attends St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chatta-nooga.) In addition, Edgar has served on the boards of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, Senior Neighbors and the Chattanooga Commun-ity Foundation. He’s also a past president of the Chattanooga Civitan Club.
Edgar and his wife, Gail, have two daughters: Amy Edgar Sklansky, a children’s author living in Missouri; and Laura Edgar, a fourth grade teacher living in South Carolina.
As Edgar looks back on 25 years as a federal judge, he says his work has not only given him a sense of personal satisfaction, it’s also been enjoyable. “To a lawyer, being an Article III U.S. district judge is one of the greatest jobs in the world,” he says.
Edgar has dropped a few clues suggesting why he went into semi-retirement instead of leaving the bench altogether, including his desire for new challenges and fresh surroundings, but his fondness for his job is perhaps the most compelling reason.
When you have what you consider to be “one of the greatest jobs in the world,” you don’t leave it, not even for late mornings and lazy afternoons.
|
|