R. Lanier Anderson III at a glance
- Current role
- U.S. Circuit Judge
- Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Jurisdiction
- National federal courts · Federal
- Judicial service
- Senior
R. Lanier Anderson III
U.S. Circuit Judge · U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Available research
Biography
Professional career
- Practiced law in Macon, Georgia from 1963–1979.
- Private practice, Macon, GA, 1963-1979
- U.S. Army captain, 1961-1963
- Private practice, Macon, GA, 1961-present
Judicial service
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1979-1981
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1981-2009
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Judge Robert Lanier Anderson III (born November 12, 1936) is a senior U.S. Circuit Judge on the Eleventh Circuit, originally appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the Fifth Circuit in 1979. He assumed senior status on January 31, 2009 and previously held the role of Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit from 1999 to 2002.
Education
- Yale University · A.B., 1958
- Harvard University · LL.B., 1961
Personal record
Born 1936 · Macon, GA
Courtroom rules and guidance
Appellate Oral Argument
In federal courts of appeals, oral argument is allowed unless a three-judge panel unanimously finds one of Rule 34's specified grounds for dispensing with it; the clerk provides the date, time, place, and time allocation.
Oral argument must be allowed in every case unless a panel of three judges who have examined the briefs and record unanimously agrees that oral argument is unnecessaryFederal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument ↗
Sources
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · checked July 25, 2026
https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377211CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · checked August 2, 2026
https://www.courtlistener.com/person/107/robert-lanier-anderson-iii/Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument
Judge research source · HTML · checked July 26, 2026
https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure