in 1959, after the success of his novel "anatomy of a murder", voelker retired from the court in order to write full-time and to fish at his beloved frenchman's pond. at the time, his court salary was $18,500/year (equivalent to $ in ) while he was earning royalties from "anatomy of a murder" of almost $100,000 (equivalent to $ in ). he delayed his resignation until after the new year in 1960 so that governor williams would be free to appoint his successor, theodore souris. after leaving the court, voelker never practiced law again.