Thomas A. Varlan | |
Office: | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee |
Term Start: | October 8, 2012 |
Term End: | March 31, 2019 |
Predecessor: | Curtis Lynn Collier |
Successor: | Pamela L. Reeves |
Office1: | Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee |
Term Start1: | March 14, 2003 |
Appointer1: | George W. Bush |
Predecessor1: | Robert Leon Jordan |
Birth Name: | Thomas Alexander Varlan |
Birth Date: | 1 July 1956 |
Birth Place: | Oak Ridge, Tennessee |
Education: | University of Tennessee (BA) Vanderbilt University Law School (JD) |
Thomas Alexander Varlan (born July 1, 1956) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Varlan received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1981. He was in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1981 to 1987. He was the law director for the City of Knoxville, Tennessee, from 1988 to 1998, thereafter returning to private practice in Knoxville from 1998 to 2003.
On January 7, 2003, Varlan was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee vacated by Robert Leon Jordan. Varlan was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 2003, and received his commission on March 14, 2003. He became Chief Judge on October 8, 2012. His term as Chief Judge ended on March 31, 2019.