U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Greer, former state senator, announces retirement

U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer, a former Republican state senator, has announced his retirement from the bench effective June 30, reports the Greeneville Sun.  He’ll take “senior status,” meaning Greer may still be appointed to hear selected cases after stepping down from fulltime duties.

Greer, 65, was originally nominated as a district judge in April 2003 by President George W. Bush and was confirmed in June 2003 by the U.S. Senate. He filled the position vacated by Judge Thomas Gray Hull and began his service as a district judge on June 12, 2003.

Thomas A. Varlan, chief U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, began his federal judgeship the same year as Greer.

“Judge Greer has served the public with great distinction as a U.S. district judge, and during his tenure he has handled a myriad number of complex civil and criminal cases. He will be greatly missed as an active district judge, but the court is very appreciative of his willingness to continue to hear cases as a senior judge of the district,” Varlan said in a statement released Tuesday. (Note: The press release is HERE.)

Greer has presided over the majority of his cases as a federal judge in the James H. Quillen U.S. Courthouse in Greeneville, hearing cases from the 10 counties of the Northeastern District of Tennessee: Greene, Carter, Cocke, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington.

Greer was a 1st District state senator from 1986 to 1994.