Nov. 10, 2010
Veterans Day Promises to Hold Special Meaning for New JAG Officer
Americans will line the streets of their hometowns on Thursday to honor those who served in the military at Veterans Day parades. A different kind of service was held in the Supreme Court of Ohio Courtroom recently for an attorney just embarking on his military career.
Events in Toledoan Andrew D. Tharp’s life have been happening at a rapid pace over the last several months. He graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law in May, took the Tennessee Bar Exam in July, married on Sept. 4, and learned he passed the bar exam on Oct. 8.
Tharp chose to take the Tennessee bar because he and his wife Kate eventually want to settle there after his military service concludes.
All of these events were coalescing nicely until Tharp realized he would not be able to attend the Tennessee Fall Admissions Ceremony this week to be admitted to the bar. He and Kate had scheduled their honeymoon then.
That’s when he involved the Ohio Supreme Court. Tharp found a Supreme Court of Tennessee rule that allows an applicant to seek admission to the Tennessee bar if the oath of admission is administered by “a justice or judge of the court of last resort in any other state.” He was sworn in by Chief Justice Eric Brown at the Ohio Judicial Center on Oct. 20.
Tharp forwarded his certified admission by affidavit to the Tennessee Supreme Court, which, in turn, issued a certificate of good standing and forwarded that document to the Pentagon to “cut his orders.”
Tharp plans to enter the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corp and expects to be assigned to Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C. for two years. Judge Advocates, who primarily serve as legal advisers to the command to which they are assigned, must serve a minimum of four years.
Tharp praised the Ohio Supreme Court bar admissions office for helping him figure out the process. He said it took “a lot of phone calls, for sure, but it was well worth it.”
Tharp served in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps as an undergraduate student at Bowling Green State University. He received an educational delay of duty to attend law school and will enter the JAG Corps as a commissioned officer.
His sister, a first-year law student at UT, plans to enter the JAG Corps as well.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.