Remembering Judge Wyatt

In the Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas defines justice as “the habit by which one renders to each his right or due with a constant and perpetual will.” The Honorable J. Randall Wyatt, Jr., who passed away earlier this week at the age of 87, embodied this Thomistic principle during his 43 years serving on the bench.

A graduate of Father Ryan High School and a Marine Corps veteran, Judge Wyatt became a member of Nashville’s police force in 1959, which marked the beginning of a distinguished career working in the criminal justice system. During these years serving as a police officer, he also completed his undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University and received his Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt Law School. His own experience of working in law enforcement while simultaneously pursuing degrees in higher education made him an ideal figure to first assist in the development of and later to serve as an instructor in the Criminal Justice program at Aquinas, which had a number of Metro police officers among its enrolled students during the 1970s and 1980s. Judge Wyatt was an adept and admired professor in this program and his Evidence course was a favorite among the students. Even after he was first appointed as a judge in 1974, he still devoted time–amid his ever increasing responsibilities–to teaching night classes at Aquinas.

Though the Criminal Justice program was discontinued in the late 1980s, Judge Wyatt remained a vital friend and supporter of the College. He served for many years on the President’s Council and he was the Commencement speaker for several of the College’s graduating classes. The J. Randall Wyatt, Jr. Scholarship Fund was established in 1989, funded largely by donations from his former students; this scholarship has enabled the education of many Aquinas students.

Judge Wyatt will be greatly missed by the Aquinas community and we wish to extend our condolences and prayerful support to his family. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.