Thomas A. Wiseman Jr. Explained

Thomas A. Wiseman Jr.
Office:Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
Term Start:November 3, 1995
Term End:March 18, 2020
Office1:Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
Term Start1:1984
Term End1:1991
Predecessor1:Leland Clure Morton
Successor1:John Trice Nixon
Office2:Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
Term Start2:August 11, 1978
Term End2:November 3, 1995
Appointer2:Jimmy Carter
Predecessor2:Frank Gray Jr.
Successor2:Todd J. Campbell
Order3:37th
Office3:Tennessee State Treasurer
Term Start3:1971
Term End3:1974
Governor3:Winfield Dunn
Predecessor3:Charlie Worley
Successor3:Harlan Mathews
Office4:Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
Term Start4:1964
Term End4:1968
Birth Date:3 November 1930
Birth Place:Tullahoma, Tennessee
Death Place:Nashville, Tennessee
Party:Democratic
Children:3
Education:Vanderbilt University (BA)
Vanderbilt University Law School (JD)
University of Virginia School of Law (LLM)

Thomas Anderton Wiseman Jr. (November 3, 1930 – March 18, 2020) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee from 1978 to 1995.[1]

Education and career

Born in Tullahoma, Tennessee, the son of Vera Seleta (Poe) and Thomas Anderton Wiseman,[2] Wiseman graduated from Tullahoma High School. He then received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1952, and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1954. He passed the bar in 1954. He was in the United States Army for two years from 1954 to 1956. He then entered private practice in Tullahoma from 1956 to 1963, and in Winchester, Tennessee from 1963 to 1971.

He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1965 to 1969,[3] [4] and was the Treasurer of the State of Tennessee from 1971 to 1974. He ran for the Democratic Party nomination for Governor in 1974 amid a crowded field of candidates and was badly outspent by both eventual nominee and winner Ray Blanton and runner-up Jake Butcher. Wiseman then resumed his private practice, this time in Nashville, Tennessee from 1974 to 1978.

Federal judicial service

On August 1, 1978, Wiseman was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee vacated by Judge Frank Gray Jr. Wiseman was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1978, and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1984 to 1991, and assumed senior status on November 3, 1995. At the time of his death, he was in inactive senior status.

Further education and service

Wiseman served as an adjunct faculty member at Vanderbilt University Law School from 1989–2020, and received a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1990. He was a Special Master for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1992–1993.

Death

He died on March 18, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee at age 89.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Who's Who in the South and Southwest. Who, W.. Staff, W.W.. 1999. Marquis Who's Who. 9780837908298. 0083-9809. 2015-07-19.
  2. Book: Biographical Directory: Tennessee General Assembly, 1796-1967: Coffee County [and] Grundy County. Tennessee State Library and Archives. 1968. Tennessee State Library and Archives. 2015-07-19.
  3. Web site: Judge Thomas A. Wiseman Jr. '54 (BA'52) of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee dead at 89. 2021-09-09. Vanderbilt University. en.
  4. Web site: Thomas A. Wiseman Jr. Obituary (1930 - 2020) The Tennessean. 2021-09-09. Legacy.com.
  5. Web site: Thomas Wiseman Obituary - Nashville, TN . Obits.tennessean.com . 2020-03-20 . 2020-03-20 .