George Ross Anderson Jr. (January 29, 1929December 1, 2020) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a judge of the

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charlest ...

. After graduating from Southeastern University and

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, Anderson served for a year in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

during the Korean War. He worked in private legal practice from 1954 and was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives for a one-year term in 1955. Anderson became a federal judge in 1980, nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

in 2009 and retired in 2016.

Early life and education

Anderson was born in Anderson,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. His father worked for the Equinox textile mill but forbid his son from working there. Anderson instead had a number of jobs, including delivering newspapers and roofing. He earned his Bachelor of Commercial Science degree from Southeastern University in 1949, studied political science at

from 1949 to 1951, and received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...

in 1954.

Career

He was a

legislative assistant A legislative assistant (LA) or legislative analyst is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer, a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the government relations and regulatory affairs industry by monitor ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Olin D. Johnston Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston (November 18, 1896April 18, 1965) was an American politician from the US state of South Carolina. He served as the 98th governor of South Carolina, 1935–1939 and 1943–1945, and represented the state in the Unite ...

from 1947 to 1951 and from 1953 to 1954. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from 1951 to 1952, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served as a finance instructor and historian to an

air wing In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military aviation services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group ( ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Anderson served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1955 to 1956, and practiced law in Anderson from 1954 to 1980. (cites David Dykes of

The Greenville News ''The Greenville News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Greenville, South Carolina. After ''The State'' in Columbia and Charleston's ''The Post and Courier'', it is the third largest paper in South Carolina. History ''The Greenville N ...

) He was unpopular during his single term in the state legislature due to his support for prison expansion. During his career, Anderson was an early fingerprint analyst for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

, helped to design the water supply system for Anderson County and arranged for cable television to be installed in the area. Anderson was one of the twelve founders of South Carolina Association for Justice, and its president from 1971 to 1972. They honored him with a lifetime achievement award shortly before he took

Federal judicial service

Later life and death

A federal courthouse was renamed in honor of Anderson in 2002, a rare honor for a living judge. The student center at Anderson University was named after him in 2015 and was one of his last public appearances. He was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by South Carolina. Anderson suffered declining health in later life and died on December 1, 2020, at a South Carolina nursing home.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, G. Ross 1929 births 2020 deaths Employees of the United States Senate George Washington University Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina People from Anderson, South Carolina Military personnel from South Carolina South Carolina lawyers United States Air Force airmen United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century American politicians University of South Carolina School of Law alumni Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives