TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Jan 19, 2024

Retired General Sessions Judge Robert Donald "Don" Arnold died on Jan. 15 following a lengthy illness. He was 81. A native of Sullivan County, Arnold received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and settled in Johnson City, where he helped found the law firm of Hicks, Arnold, Haynes & Sanders in 1968. He served as a Johnson City commissioner and later as mayor in the late 1970s. A decade later, he was elected to represent the Third District in the Tennessee Senate, where he was named Republican leader. Later elected to preside over Washington County General Sessions Court Part III, Arnold retired in 2022 after nearly nine years on the bench. Memorial donations may be made to Families Free, a 501(c)3 organization designed to build better communities through the transformation of vulnerable families, especially those affected by incarceration, online at familiesfree.com, or by mail at P.O. Box 5645, Johnson City, TN 37602. Services were held Thursday.