Jon Phipps McCalla

Who is Jon Phipps McCalla?

Jon Phipps McCalla is a Senior United States District Judge.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, McCalla received a B.S. from the University of Tennessee in 1969 and was in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. He received a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1974. He was a law clerk to the Hon. Bailey Brown, U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee from 1974 to 1975. He was in private practice in Memphis from 1975 to 1992.

On August 1, 1991, McCalla was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 6, 1992, and received his commission on February 10, 1992. He was chief judge from 2008 to 2013. He took senior status on August 23, 2013.

Reprimand

Judge McCalla was harshly reprimanded by the Sixth Circuit Judicial Council in 2001 for verbal and physical abuse towards practicing attorneys. McCalla was only one of seven federal judges to be formally disciplined in the 2000s.