Lindsey Brown, a legal aid client, right, hugs Judge Neil Thomas after speaking about how legal aid helped her at a news conference held at the Hamilton County Courthouse to launch #Help4TNDay on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The day is part of the Tennessee Supreme Court's Access to Justice Initiative to help Tennesseans access legal counsel.Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge Neil Thomas III has announced his resignation after 20 years on the bench.
Thomas, who was appointed in 1997 by then-Gov. Don Sundquist, will step down Oct. 5. He was re-elected for three eight-year terms and presided over about 200 jury trials.
"While I'm leaving the bench, I am not retiring," Thomas, 73, said in a news release today. "My life's work of complex business law and meditation will get my professional attention and time."
A graduate of the Baylor School, the University of North Carolina and the University of Michigan School of Law, Thomas first practiced law in New York City before returning to Chattanooga in 1976.
His letter of resignation will trigger the judicial selection process in which Gov. Bill Haslam will pick from three finalists.
"Twenty years serving the community in public service has been an extraordinary honor and one that I'll forever cherish," Thomas said. "Leaving the bench will permit me to invest so much more time in my heart's desire - our great community and my family."