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title: "R. Lanier Anderson III | KnowJudges"
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page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-09"
---

# R. Lanier Anderson III

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · U.S. Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- State: National federal courts
- Role: U.S. Circuit Judge
- Service status: senior
- Last verified: 2026-07-25

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Biography

### Professional career

- He assumed senior status on January 31, 2009 and previously held the role of Chief Judge of the Eleventh Circuit from 1999 to 2002
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 1981-2009
- Judge, Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1979-1981
- Judge Robert Lanier Anderson III is a senior U.S. Circuit Judge on the Eleventh Circuit, originally appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the Fifth Circuit in 1979
- 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

### Education

- Harvard University — LL.B. (1961)
- Yale College, A.B. (1958) Harvard Law School, LL.B. (1961)
- Yale University — B.A. (1958)

### Additional information

- Private practice, Macon, GA, 1961-present
- Private practice, Macon, GA, 1963-1979
- Practiced law in Macon, Georgia from 1963–1979.
- U.S. Army captain, 1961-1963
- Born November 12, 1936.
- Date of birth: 1936-01-01
- Birth place: Macon, GA

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### appellate oral argument

Scope: courtwide

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.

Evidence excerpt: 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 unnecessary

[Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377211)
- [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377211)
- [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1377211)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/107/robert-lanier-anderson-iii/)
- [Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 34, Oral Argument](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-appellate-procedure)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/107/robert-lanier-anderson-iii/)
- [Wikidata: R. Lanier Anderson III](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7273811)

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