The State of Tennessee suffered a blow yesterday when Justice E. Riley Anderson announced that he was stepping down effective August 31, 2006.
Justice Anderson, from Oak Ridge, has served on the Supreme Court for over 15 years and, earlier, served on the Court of Appeals for 3 years. [Bio] He is a compassionate man who understands his responsibility to the people of this State and who fulfilled that responsibility with honor and distinction.
I love his dissent in Carroll v. Whitney, 29 S.W.3d 14, 22 (Tenn. 2000) and Dotson v. Blake, 29 S.W.3d 26, 31 (Tenn. 2000). His opinion in Hunter v. Ura just one year ago helped bring justice and reason to the resolution of medical negligence cases. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this: Justice Anderson will be sorely missed as a member of our Court.
Justice Anderson’s sucessor will be chosen by the Governor from a list of three persons selected by the Judicial Selection Commission. Applicants must come from East or West Tennessee. The man or woman chosen better have big feet – he or she has big shoes to fill.