It’s official: Former federal prosecutor Gary Humble is now judge of Signal Mountain following his recent investiture by the Hon. William “Chink” Brown at Signal Mountain Town Hall.
Humble won the non-partisan election for the post Aug. 2.
Humble says he’s excited to be Signal Mountain’s new Town Judge. “I’m looking forward to serving the community with humility and understanding,” he added.
Humble is the son of the late Joe and Lorraine Humble.
Humble earned a degree in history, with honors, in 1977 from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He then earned his law degree from the University of Memphis in 1980 and was licensed to practice law in Tennessee.
The U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., hired Humble through the Honors Program. He served first in the Antitrust Division and then as an assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Humble returned to Chattanooga in 1987 and began a 25-year career with the local U.S. Attorney’s office. During his career, he prosecuted many high-profile cases, including former Hamilton County Sheriff Billy Long on drug conspiracy, firearms, money laundering and extortion charges.
Humble also prosecuted two University of Tennessee Space Institute Professors and five NASA and Marshall Space Flight employees in a government-contracts-for-graduate-degrees scam. In his last federal trial prosecution, he and Steven Neff convicted a Nashville-based FBI agent for bank fraud and bankruptcy fraud.
Humble retired in 2011 and began the private practice of law from his home on Signal Mountain. He represented clients in a wide range of cases, from a month-long criminal jury trial in federal court to a trial in juvenile court. He handled various civil and criminal cases in the federal and state courts of Tennessee and elsewhere.
In addition to the practice of law, Humble has engaged in other law-related activities. He has written and published several scholarly law review articles and been cited by two state supreme courts and three U.S. Courts of Appeal, including the court in the famous case of United States v. Oliver North.
Humble has taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law and coached high school mock trial teams at Central, Hixson and Soddy Daisy.
Humble will serve as judge for four years, finishing the unexpired eight-year term of Mark Rothberger. The court meets every first Tuesday and third Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall.
Contact Judge Humble at ghumble@signalmountaintn.gov
Sources: CBA and Judge Humble