Robert Lynn Echols (born January 13, 1941) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Early life, education and military service

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Echols received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis in 1962 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1964. He was in the United States Army in 1966. He served for 35 years in both the United States Army Reserves and the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

retiring as a brigadier general in 2001.Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
"Federal Judge Robert L. Echols To Join Bass, Berry & Sims PLC"
''prnewswire.com website'', Cision Distribution by

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

, July 12, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2021. His last assignment in the military was commander of the 30th Troop Command of the Tennessee Army National Guard.

Career

Echols was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Judge Marion S. Boyd of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee from 1965 to 1966. He was a legislative assistant for Congressman

Dan Kuykendall Dan Heflin Kuykendall (July 9, 1924 – June 12, 2008) was an American politician and businessman who served as a United States Representative from Tennessee's 8th and 9th congressional districts from 1967 until 1975. A member of the Republ ...

in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1969. He was in private practice in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Tennessee from 1969 to 1992, serving as a night commissioner for Davidson County, Tennessee from 1974 to 1975. On October 22, 1991, Echols was nominated by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 1992, and received his commission on March 18, 1992. He served as Chief Judge from 1998 to 2005, assuming senior status on March 1, 2007, and retiring fully from the bench on July 31, 2010.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Echols, Robert Lynn 1941 births Living people Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush 20th-century American judges Rhodes College alumni University of Tennessee College of Law alumni National Guard (United States) generals Tennessee National Guard personnel