Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 5/11/17. Neil Thomas speaks to CTFP reporters during a meeting at the newspaper on Thursday, May 11, 2017. At first, he thought it was a joke.
Attorney Neil Thomas was working on a legal brief in 1997 when his secretary said then-Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist was on line 205. For months, people had been exchanging light-hearted jabs about the judicial appointment to Hamilton County’s Circuit Court. “Is that the governor?” some lawyers teased one finalist when his phone went off in court one day.
“You can play your games all you want, I’m working on something serious,” Thomas, now 73, recalled telling her. The secretary buzzed the call in anyway, and 20 years later, Thomas can still remember Sundquist’s opening line:
“Good morning, Judge Thomas.”
After presiding over 214 jury trials and thousands of other cases, Thomas announced his resignation from the bench Thursday. He was re-elected for three eight-year terms and will step down Oct. 5.