He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Clemson University in 1972, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity.

He received a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1975.

He was a law clerk for Judge Clement Haynsworth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1975 to 1976.

[3] Anderson was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on September 26, 1986, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina vacated by Judge Charles Earl Simons Jr.

Anderson was the youngest federal judge in South Carolina history at the time of his appointment.