Richard Allen Bunn

Born on August 19, 1950 in Shirley, Massachusetts to the late Edward and Virginia Bunn on the eve of his father deploying to fight in the Korean Conflict, Richard grew up in Columbus and Hamilton, Georgia. He graduated from Harris County High School in 1968 where he was the quarterback of the football team and played baseball, having pitched a no-hitter at age 14 in Babe Ruth Little League.

Richard served in the U.S. Air Force from 1969 to 1976, was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant, and was fond of saying that he was a “SAC trained killer trained in global thermal nuclear war” due to his service in the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command, 308th Strategic Missile Wing, as a Combat Crew Member, Titan Two Launch Crew, from 1972 to 1976, stationed in Arkansas. He received a Presidential Citation Award with two clusters, a Unit Citation, the National Defense Medal, Titan II Combat Crew Excellence Award, and Master Missileman’s Award. A graduate of Park College (now Park University) in Parkville, Missouri, with a B.A. in History with Honors, and having become a devoted Razorbacks fan, he returned home to Georgia, obtained his J.D. degree from John Marshall Law School in 1979, and opened his law practice in Hamilton, Georgia that same year. He practiced law in Harris County, Muscogee County, and other counties in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, as well other parts of Georgia, for 37 years before being forced to retire because of his illness. He was voted the 2000 Reader’s Choice, Best Attorney of Harris County, Georgia – Harris County Journal Poll. Throughout his life and even while fighting the monster known as lung cancer, he never lost his quick wit and acerbic sense of humor nor his passion for learning about the world and other cultures and for championing what is just and right.

Richard Bunn was well known among his colleagues and the judiciary for working tirelessly throughout his career to ensure that those accused of crimes received their constitutional guarantee of a competent defense. He was widely respected throughout the state for providing effective, aggressive defense for individuals accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He was a Sustaining Member of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (former Area Vice-President), was a member of the Georgia Defenders of Drunk Drivers (DODD), the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the National College for DUI Defense, and was a founding member of the Georgia Innocence Project, a non-profit corporation dedicated to securing the release and exoneration of innocent men and women imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. He was a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Columbus Bar Association, the Chattahoochee Bar Association (past President), and the Columbus Trial Lawyers Association, and was a Master in the Columbus American Inns of Court and a Fellow of the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia. He was admitted to all courts in Georgia, including the Superior and State Courts, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Supreme Court, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Middle District and Northern District of Georgia, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Richard Bunn was a loving and devoted father, he cared deeply about and fought hard for his clients, he loved the Braves and the Razorbacks, and he enjoyed comradery with friends from all walks of life. He was buoyed in his last months by loyal friends, colleagues, current and former clients, and extended family.