Assistant DA running for general sessions judge

Ryan Spitzer, an Anderson County assistant district attorney general, has announced that he will be a candidate for judge in General Sessions Court, Division I in Clinton. Spitzer, an attorney with more than a decade of legal experience in criminal and civil law, filed his petition to seek the judicial position last week with the Anderson County Election Commission.

After four years in private practice, Spitzer joined the staff of District Attorney General Dave Clark in 2007, a press release said. Serving as an assistant DA, he prosecutes those charged with crimes in the General Sessions, Juvenile and Criminal Courts of Anderson County.

“I have practiced in all of the criminal courts in Anderson County, and I have prosecuted the full range of cases, dealing with crime victims from every walk of life,” Spitzer said in the press release. “I have worked closely with our local law enforcement to make Anderson County safer for everyone.”

Spitzer, a Democrat, could oppose Republican Don Layton in the August general election.

Spitzer said he is familiar with the “needs and frustrations” of crime victims.

“I want to serve the residents of Anderson County as a judge because we deserve to have a fair, efficient, and professional judicial system,” Spitzer said. “With respect to my approach to the judicial process, I am mindful that a judge’s fundamental role is to serve as umpire, and to make sure that the parties follow the rules of law and of the courts. A judge’s role is to ensure not that a particular outcome is reached, in terms of which side wins or loses, but simply to ensure that the law is followed throughout the judicial process.”

Spitzer said that he has worked alongside District Attorney General Clark to cultivate an improved atmosphere of professionalism and respect in the Anderson County court system. He added that a broad range of qualities and skills—including a knowledge of the law, aggressiveness at times, patience at times, and a willingness to negotiate—contribute to an attorney’s overall professionalism, and that he intends to bring a renewed sense of professionalism and respect to the General Sessions Court.

Spitzer, who lives in Oak Ridge and works in Clinton, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 6 primary election.

In addition to his work as a prosecutor, Spitzer serves as an adjunct professor in the paralegal program at Pellissippi State Community College, teaching Introduction to Law and Ethics, and Criminal Law and Procedure, the press release said.

Originally from the small town of Humboldt, Tenn., Spitzer worked nights in a factory to put himself through college while also serving six years as an emergency medical technician in the Tennessee Army National Guard, the release said.

After graduating magna cum laude from Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Spitzer received his law degree from Vanderbilt University, and then went on to have a civil law practice before becoming an Assistant District Attorney. He and his wife, Tracy Loch Spitzer, have one son, Rogan.

Spitzer’s campaign committee invites voters to learn more about him on his Facebook page, Ryan Spitzer for Judge, at www.facebook.com.