[1] He was initially appointed to a circuit court position by Governor William C. Oates in 1895.
He was elected to a newly created seat on the Alabama Supreme Court in 1904, and was elevated to Chief Justice in 1914 (succeeding James R. Dowdell).
[2] While Chief Justice, Anderson was the only member of the Alabama Supreme Court to dissent in the Scottsboro Boys cases, a high-profile event where nine young Black men were accused and rapidly convicted of raping two White women.
Anderson argued that the "overheated" nature of the proceedings and the failure to provide adequate counsel necessitated new trials for the defendants.
[3] His position was later vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Powell v. Alabama.