Curtis Collier ’74
Chief Judge
Now Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Curtis Collier entered law school with a view to becoming a patent attorney. An undergraduate summer spent working in a Proctor & Gamble laboratory had sparked his interest, and two more in Kodak’s research and development department during law school cemented it.
“Kodak had just invented the pocket camera, so I got a lot of great experience with patents.” Collier says. But on graduating from Duke he owed four years to the Air Force, in return for an undergraduate ROTC scholarship, and joined the Judge Advocate Corps. There he found a calling in litigation.
“I found that I really enjoyed trial work,” says Collier, whose advancement to JAG management ranks hastened his decision to leave active duty when his commitment expired. “I was getting to the point where I would never be able to set foot in the courtroom again, and I had not satisfied my goal to become as good as I thought I could be.” Collier became an assistant U.S. attorney in New Orleans, in time becoming deputy chief of the Criminal Division, where he prosecuted “white collar” criminals and public officials, including then- Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. He describes the work as “great training” for a lawyer at that stage in his career, and exceptionally challenging.
“With a typical drug case or bank robbery, the jury walks in believing the government probably has solid evidence against the defendant. You don’t have to explain why a bank robber should be found guilty, or why it is necessary to punish a drug dealer,” says Collier. “It’s a different story when you are prosecuting someone such as a congressman who has done favors for everybody in the community. You have libraries and day care centers named after that person so you are dealing with a completely different animal. Not only must you prove the facts of the case, but you must explain to the jury why society must hold people who commit these types of crimes responsible.”
Relocating to Tennessee in 1987, Collier became a supervisory assistant U.S. attorney in Chattanooga. When President Clinton undertook a search for a candidate to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in 1993, Collier’s colleagues and friends urged him to pursue the seat. “A lot of people said that I would make a good judge, but I didn’t pay much attention,” he recalls. “A friend finally persuaded me to toss my hat in the ring by saying that I should do it not only for myself, but for the court because I was the kind of person that they needed.”
After meeting with Collier, former Senator James Sasser (D-Tenn) forwarded his name to the president, who nominated him to the court in 1993. But the subsequent mid-term elections, which swept Democrats out of power in the Senate — Sasser was defeated — threatened to derail Collier’s confirmation. He started the vetting process anew with Senators Fred Thompson and Bill Frist, both Republicans, winning their support; both senators testified on Collier’s behalf at his confirmation hearing. Collier was sworn in on June 2, 1995, joining fellow alumnus Judge R. Allan Edgar ’65.
“We are the only court in the nation to have two Duke Law alumni serving together,” Collier notes. He succeeded Judge Edgar as chief judge of the court when the latter took senior status in 2005, and says he is grateful for his predecessor’s assistance.
“In his last year he really took the time to acquaint me with the role of chief judge,” says Collier. “He invited me to attend the annual meeting of the District Courts in Washington, and involved me in every administrative and personnel matter that year so my learning curve would not be as steep.” He adds that Judge Edgar helped him understand the need for collegiality on the court. “He taught me that for the court to conduct the business of the public it is essential that the judges get along and are able to see eye to eye.”
In addition to his professional service, Judge Collier is active in his church and local community, serving on the board of directors of the Children’s Advocacy Council and the Moccasin Bend Girl Scouts Council. He is also an active member of the NAACP and the Urban League. Currently in his second term on the Board of Visitors, Judge Collier was honored with the Law School’s Charles S. Murphy Award at Reunion 2006, for his commitment to public service. He and his wife, Cheryl, have three children and one granddaughter.