Portrait of retired federal Judge Robert Elliott unveiled

<p>The piercing eyes of retired U.S. District Court Judge J. Robert Elliott peer over a federal courtroom in Columbus again _ this time in a portrait of the 94-year-old jurist.</p><p>Elliott was on hand Tuesday as more than 20 judges and 100 friends and family members applauded the hanging of the portrait. It was 42 years to the day after he was inducted as Columbus' first resident federal judge.</p><p>At the time Elliott retired on Dec. 31, 2000, after 38 years on the bench, he was the nation's oldest active federal judge.</p><p>Judge Clay Land, who succeeded Elliott, told the spectators that before Elliott, judges who came to the west Georgia city were "circuit riders who traveled to legal outposts like Columbus."</p><p>"He gave the people in this part of the world confidence in the federal judiciary," Land said of Elliott, who was appointed by President John F. Kennedy.</p><p>___</p><p>Information from: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer</p>