Judge Hull retires

Over yonder on the Tennessee side of Bristol, the local federal court is the E.D. Tennessee's Greeneville Division, where Judge Thomas Hull has been on the bench since his appointment by President Reagan in 1983. In 2002, he took senior status, and Judge Greer was appointed by President Bush.

The Greeneville paper reports here that Judge Hull is retiring completely as of tomorrow.

The best part of the article is this statement by Magistrate Judge Inman:

“I first came to know Judge Thomas G. Hull when he was a state Circuit Court Judge, and I was a young lawyer in Morristown. I immediately liked and admired him, both personally and as a judge. His sense of humor and common sense made unpleasant trials more palatable.

“He maintained that personality when he became a federal district court judge. When I first went on the state bench in 1984, I tried to emulate much of his manner in the trial of cases.

“It is impossible to recite in a few short paragraphs what Judge Hull has meant to me, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and to his hometown of Greeneville. But for Judge Hull, I would never have been a state court judge, and neither would I have become a United States magistrate judge.

“But for Judge Hull and his dogged determination, the District Court and Greeneville would not have the amazingly beautiful, technologically superior, and functional U. S. Courthouse.

“Judge Hull has been, and remains, a remarkable man. Many people, including myself, owe him much. The Jimmy Stewart movie, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ comes to mind. What would this court and this town have been like if there had been no Tom Hull? We all have been very fortunate that there was, and is, a Judge Tom Hull.”