Federal Judge R. Allan Edgar laughs as he talks about some of the more peculiar cases he worked during his time in Chattanooga. Edgar is moving back to his native Michigan.
Staff photo by Jake Daniels/Chattanooga Times Free PressU.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar fortunately – for us and for him – came to Chattanooga as a young man. And now, after excellent service in our community for more than four decades, he is planning to move to Michigan, where he was born.
Edgar was a boy when he and his family moved to Athens, Tenn. His father worked at the Bowater paper mill.
After he graduated from Davidson College and earned a law degree at Duke University, he was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1965.
He served honorably as a U.S. Army intelligence officer in Vietnam, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.
He joined the prestigious Chattanooga law firm of Miller & Martin in 1967.
He was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1970 and served a two-year term.
Then in 1985, he was recommended by U.S. Sen. Howard Baker and confirmed by the Senate to serve as U.S. District Court judge in Chattanooga.
Among the notable cases Edgar was called upon to decide were:
n A change from the at-large, citywide election of members of the Chattanooga City Commission to the election of council members from individual districts.
n The end of the court-supervised racial desegregation of Chattanooga city schools.
Edgar has served with diligence, intelligence, integrity and honor. He will leave his service in Chattanooga with great respect from members of our community.