Judge Harry S. "Sandy" Mattice, Jr. has notified President Donald J. Trump that he intends to step down as United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee effective March 10, 2020.
Judge Mattice stated, "It has been a great privilege to have had the opportunity to serve the people of the Eastern District of Tennessee over the past 20 years, first as U. S. Attorney and later as District Judge. I will always be grateful to those who gave me that opportunity."
Judge Mattice was appointed to his present position by President George W. Bush on Nov. 18, 2005. Prior to his appointment to the judiciary, he served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee from October 2001 to November 2005. In that capacity, he was responsible for representing the United States' legal interests and for prosecuting federal criminal violations throughout the District's 41 counties, which extend from Johnson County in northeastern Tennessee to Lincoln County in the middle of the state.
Prior to assuming office as U.S. Attorney, Judge Mattice was a shareholder with Baker, Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell in Chattanooga, and before that a partner with Miller & Martin, also in Chattanooga. He was engaged in the general practice of law, with an emphasis in business investigations and litigation, securities, tax and regulatory law compliance and white-collar defense.
In 1997, at the request of Senator Fred Thompson, Judge Mattice served as senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs' Special Investigation, and conducted nationally-televised hearings on alleged illegal and improper activities in connection with the 1996 federal election campaigns.
Judge Mattice received his B.S. degree in 1976 from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and his J.D. degree in 1981 from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. While in law school, he served as student materials editor for the Tennessee Law Review, and was elected to Phi Kappa Phi and the Order of the Coif.
Senator Marsha Blackburn will play a key role in the appointment.
Judge Travis McDonough will be moving up to senior federal judge for Chattanooga.