Editorial
Front Page - Friday, August 28, 2009
Judge Durby enjoys variety in life, court and Chattanooga
Samara Litvack
Honorable Ronald Durby grew up in Memphis and attended college at the University of Alabama. After receiving a degree with a minor in biology and a major in physical education, he began a career as a football coach.
Durby spent a year coaching high school in Jasper, Ala., and then moved to Kentucky, where he coached two years at Morehead State University. The whole time, then-University of Chattanooga coach Scrappy Moore had been trying to recruit Durby to come coach on his staff. When Moore retired, Harold Wilkes became head coach of the football team. He must have been a bit more convincing.
“That’s how I got to Chattanooga,” says Durby. Wilkes gave him a job on his staff, and he moved here and fell in love with the city.
So how did the football coach become interested in law? He says he’d always had the inclination, and once he got to Chattanooga, he began associating with people who brought the idea back to the forefront.
“Sam Payne and Clarence Shattuck were in practice together,” he says. “Sam was a big alumni from UC and he and I used to talk.”
Those talks led to Durby enrolling at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Upon graduation, he and wife Vicka considered their options.
“We could go wherever we wanted to go, but really just decided Chattanooga was the place for us,” he says. They loved the Tennessee weather, the melting pot of people and the professional and personal opportunities that seemed to call out to them.
Durby moved his family to Chattanooga and went to work with the Legal Aid Society. He handled cases for Chancellor Hal Peoples, and considers himself lucky to have gotten such a great first job in the industry.
“I think (Legal Aid) is good to get your feet on the ground,” he says.
Durby then went into private practice with Shattuck, until his partner became a Sessions Court judge. At that time, he began practice with John Higgason, where he stayed until he had the opportunity to become clerk and master under Chancellor Peoples and Chancellor Van Owens.
Ten years later, Durby was presented with another great opportunity. At the same time as Judge Bob Moon, Durby was elected General Sessions Court judge in 1992.
Although he is happy with his position, Durby says he never pictured himself as a judge in his years as an attorney.
“It was never in my sights,” he says. “It sort of evolved. I had the opportunity. When the opportunity came, I decided to go that route.”
Today, he tries all sorts of cases, from murder to shoplifting to traffic violations. His cases are assigned by computer, and he is happy to never have the same day twice.
“It’s a Heinz 57,” he says, grinning, and explains that he and his four colleagues rotate through series of criminal and civil caseloads, taking whatever dockets are handed to them by the luck of the draw.
But Durby doesn’t wish his days were more predictable. In fact, the ever-changing nature is what he loves most about his job, and life in general.
Chattanooga, for instance, is a “mixing area” more than just “homegrown,” he says. “I know there are a lot of people who have been born and raised here, but there are a lot of people that are sort of like I am, [who just] moved here. They just pick Chattanooga to live.”
And Durby says his family has always felt right at home in the Scenic City.
“We adopted Chattanooga over the years and have been very glad we did,” he says. “It has been a great place to raise the kids and we’ve just enjoyed being part of Chattanooga.”
His son now lives in Cookeville and his daughter resides in Red Bank. Durby and his wife have four grandchildren, two from each child, and they are as proud of the whole brood as they possibly could be.
In his spare time, Durby is still involved with sports, though not near as much as he was in his coaching days. He attends games at Red Bank and Ooltewah High Schools, as well as UTC and the University of Alabama, every chance he gets.
He also enjoys fishing, and goes often with friend, neighbor and old colleague Coach Wilkes.
“We fish various and sundry places in little club tournaments,” he says. “We have a good time doing that.”
Durby also likes to play a little golf now and again, and watches pro football “just because it’s football,” and doesn’t pull for any one NFL team in particular.
He is also heavily involved in his church, Red Bank Baptist, and has become affiliated with a few organizations through that membership. He serves on the board of Chattanooga Prison Ministries, which witnesses and ministers to people who are incarcerated. His wife visits prisoners with the organization, offering devotionals as a Bible teacher. Durby also serves on the board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
As far as advice for future lawyers, Durby offers honest words: “I think the practice of law is a great opportunity to serve your community and serve your fellow man.
“It’s not for everybody and I don’t even want to infer that it is, but I think it’s a great way to help people.”
And despite never having aspired to become a judge as a young lawyer, or not specifically having aspired to become a lawyer as a young football coach, Durby has managed to make his mark on the Chattanooga community.
“When you practice law, and I practiced law for a number of years before I became a judge, you’re just dealing with people,” he says. “You see all kinds of people, from the very best to the very worst. And it’s just part of being alive.”
He is serving his final term as judge, he says. When his term expires in 2014, he doesn’t plan to run again.
“I’ll be old and decrepit,” he jokes. “They might be ready to get rid of me by then.”
Whether or not that’s true, and whatever happens between now and then, one thing is certain: Durby will be spending each day enjoying the variety of life with his family and friends, right here in Chattanooga.
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