List of justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court

Last updated

Following is a list of justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The court was established when Oklahoma achieved statehood in 1907, and was initially composed of five justices, with the state divided into a corresponding number of judicial districts. [1] In 1917, the court was expanded to nine justices, with the judicial districts being redrawn accordingly, and with the seats for the fourth and fives judicial districts being switched. [1]

Contents

Current membership

The justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court are:

JusticeDistrictAppointedGovernorLaw schoolBirth city
Yvonne Kauger 4th1984 George Nigh Oklahoma City University Colony, Oklahoma
James R. Winchester 5th2000 Frank Keating Oklahoma City University Clinton, Oklahoma
James E. Edmondson 7th2003 Brad Henry Georgetown University Kansas City, Missouri
Doug Combs 8th2010 Brad Henry Oklahoma City University Shawnee, Oklahoma
Noma Gurich 3rd2011 Brad Henry University of Oklahoma South Bend, Indiana
Richard Darby 9th2018 Mary Fallin University of Oklahoma Altus, Oklahoma
Dustin Rowe 2nd2019 Kevin Stitt University of Oklahoma Ada, Oklahoma
M. John Kane IV 1st2019 Kevin Stitt University of Oklahoma Pawhuska, Oklahoma
Dana Kuehn 6th2021 Kevin Stitt University of Tulsa Owasso, Oklahoma

List of former justices

JudgeBegan active
service
Ended active
service
DistrictNotes
John B. Turner 19071918District 1
Robert L. Williams 19071914District 2first Chief Justice (1908–1913); Resigned 3-10-1914; Later third Governor of Oklahoma
Matthew John Kane 19081923District 3Chief Justice 1909–12; died January 2, 1924
Jesse James Dunn 19071913District 4Resigned September 1, 1913
Samuel W. Hayes 19071914District 5Resigned April 7, 1914.
Robert H. Loofbourrow 19131915District 4Appointed September 1, 1913
Stillwell H. Russell 19141914District 2died May 16, 1914
W.R. Bleakmore 19141914District 2appointed May 26, 1914
Summers T. Hardy 19141919District 2Elected to an unexpired term; resigned May 1, 1919
J. F. Sharp 19141919District 4/5 [2] resigned October 1, 1919
F. E. Riddle 19141914District 5Appointed April 7, 1914
G. A. Brown 19141915District 5Died October 25, 1915
Charles M. Thacker 19151918District 5/4 [3] Appointed November 2, 1915; died February 17, 1918
J. H. Miley 19171918District 6Appointed March 31, 1917
Thomas H. Owen 19171920District 7Appointed March 31, 1917, elected 1918, resigned May 1, 1920
Robert M. Rainey 19171920District 8Appointed March 31, 1917; Chief Justice 1920–21
Rutherford Brett 19171918District 9Appointed March 31, 1917.
John H. Pitchford 19181923District 1Died March 2, 1923
B. L. Tisinger 19181918District 4appointed March 5, 1918
John B. Harrison 19181928District 4
Neil E. McNeil 19181924District 6
Frank M. Bailey 19191920District 5Appointed October 1, 1919
John T. Johnson 19191925District 9Chief Justice 1923 & 1925; presided over impeachment of Governor Walton in 1922
R. W. Higgins 19191920District 2Appointed May 7, 1919
Franklin Elmore Kennamer 19201924District 8Appointed to Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1920. Resigned April 1, 1924 to become Federal Judge for Northern District of Oklahoma
C. H. Elting 19201922District 2Died December 3, 1922
George M. Nicholson 19201926District 5Chief Justice 1925–27
George S. Ramsey 19201920District 7Appointed May 1, 1920; resigned November 5, 1920
John R. Miller 19201922District 7Elected to an unexpired term
William A. Collier 19201920District 7Appointed November 5, 1920
Fred P. Branson 19221929District 7Chief Justice 1927–29
Charles B. Cochrane 19221924District 2Appointed December 6, 1922; resigned May 1, 1924
Charles W. Mason 19231931District 1Appointed; Chief Justice 1929–31
J. D. Lydick 19241924District 3Appointed January 7, 1924
Frank L. Warren 19241924District 8Appointed April 1, 1924
Eugene Lester 19241931District 2Elected to an unexpired term; Chief Justice, 1931
Albert C. Hunt 1924
1955
1931
1956
District 6
District 3
Elected to Supreme Court in 1924
Appointed October 14, 1955 to replace the late Justice Ben Arnold; died August 26, 1956
Fletcher S. Riley 19241948District 9
James H. Gordon 19241932District 2Appointed May 1, 1924.
James I. Phelps 1925–291935District 3Elected to an unexpired term
James Waddey Clark 19251933District 8
Robert A. Hefner 19261932District 5
James B. Cullison 19281934District 3
Charles Swindall 19281934District 4
James B. Cullison 19291931District 3
Thomas G. Andrews 19291935District 7
J. H. Langley 1930
1933
1931
1934
District 1Resigned after serving 1 month in first term; won election in 1933
W. H. Kornegay 19311932District 1Appointed February 2, 1931
Edwin R. McNeill 19311937District 6Chief Justice 1936–37
J. H. Langley 19311931District 1Resigned February 2, 1931
Samuel Earl Welch 19321965District 2Resigned in 1965
Wayne W. Bayless 19321948District 1Elected to an unexpired term of J. H. Langley
Monroe Osborn 19321947District 5Died June 20, 1947
Orel Busby 19321937District 8Resigned August 7, 1937
N. S. Corn 19341958District 4Impeached; convicted of bribery and sent to prison
Thomas L. Gibson 19341952District 7
Denver Davison 19371978District 8Appointed August 7, 1937, replacing Justice Orel Busby; retired August 8, 1978, replaced by Justice Douglas Combs;
Harris L. Danner 19381940District 3Appointed December 1, 1938, resigned October 10, 1940
Sam Neff 19401956District 3Appointed October 10, 1940
Ben Arnold 19411953District 3Chief Justice 1951–1953; died September 30, 1955
John E. Luttrell 19471951District 5Appointed July 1, 1947; resigned August 13, 1951
Napoleon B. Johnson 19481965District 1Impeached by a Special Court of Impeachment, May 13, 1965; replaced by Judge Robert E. Lavender.
Harry L. S. Halley 19481966District 6
George Bingaman 19511952District 5Appointed August 13, 1951
W. H. Blackbird 19521972District 7Retired December 1, 1971
Ben T. Williams 19521982District 5Appointed in 1952; died in office January 11, 1982. Served 2 terms as
Floyd L. Jackson 19541973District 9Retired January 8, 1973
W. A. Carlile 19561958District 3Appointed September 17, 1956
William A. Berry 19581978District 3Resigned November 20, 1978
Pat Irwin (Oklahoma judge) 19581983District 4Chief Justice (1969–70) and (1981–82); Retired December 1983; appointed Magistrate of U.S. District Court for Western Oklahoma (1983–1991); died in Edmond, OK; 1993
Ralph B. Hodges 19652004District 2Appointed April 20, 1965; Chief Justice 1977–1978 and 1993–1994 (2 terms)
Robert E. Lavender 19652007District 1Chief Justice 1979 – 1981 Retired from Court in 2007; replaced by Justice John F. Reif;
Rooney McInerney 19661972District 6Resigned September 1, 1972; replaced by Judge Robert D. Simms.
Don Barnes 19721985District 7Appointed January 4, 1972; retired January 1985
Robert D. Simms 19721999District 6Appointed October 2, 1972; Chief Justice 1985 – 1986
John B. Doolin 19731992District 9Appointed January 8, 1973, replacing Justice Floyd L. Jackson; served as chief justice 1987-8; retired May 1, 1992
Marian P. Opala 19782010District 3Appointed November 21, 1978; Chief Justice 1991–1992; died in office October 10, 2010
Rudolph Hargrave 19782010District 8Appointed October 10, 1978, replacing Justice Davison; Chief Justice 1979 – 1981; retired effective December 31, 2010; Replaced by Douglas L. Combs
Alma Wilson 19821999District 5Appointed February 9, 1982; Chief Justice 1995–1997
Hardy Summers 19852003District 7Appointed February 1, 1985, replacing Justice Don Barnes; Chief Justice 1999–2000
Joseph M. Watt 19922017District 9Appointed June 1, 1992; Chief Justice 2003–2007; replaced by Judge Richard Darby in April, 2018
Daniel J. Boudreau 19992004District 6Resigned after serving 5 years to teach law at University of Tulsa law school [4]
Steven W. Taylor 20042016District 2Chief Justice 2011–2013
Tom Colbert 20042021District 6Chief Justice 2013–2015
John F. Reif 20072019District 1Chief Justice 2015–2016; retired in April 2019
Patrick Wyrick 20172019District 2Appointed February 9, 2017, Resigned to become federal judge on April 10, 2019

Table

YearSeat 1Seat 2Seat 3Seat 4Seat 5Seat 6Seat 7Seat 8Seat 9
1907 John B. Turner Robert L. Williams Matthew John Kane Jesse James Dunn Samuel W. Hayes No SeatNo SeatNo SeatNo Seat
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914 J. F. Sharp
1915 Summers T. Hardy G. A. Brown
1916 Charles M. Thacker
1917 Charles M. Thacker J. F. Sharp J. H. Miley Thomas H. Owen Robert M. Rainey Rutherford Brett
1918
1919 John H. Pitchford John B. Harrison Neil E. McNeil John T. Johnson
1920 R. W. Higgins Frank M. Bailey
1921 C. H. Elting John R. Miller Franklin Elmore Kennamer
1922 George M. Nicholson
1923 Charles B. Cochrane Fred P. Branson
1924 Charles W. Mason James I. Phelps Fletcher S. Riley
1925 Eugene Lester Albert C. Hunt James Waddey Clark
1926
1927 Robert A. Hefner
1928
1929
1930 James B. Cullison Charles Swindall Thomas G. Andrews
1931 J. H. Langley Edwin R. McNeill
1932 W. H. Kornegay Samuel Earl Welch
1933 J. H. Langley Monroe Osborn Orel Busby
1934
1935 Wayne W. Bayless
1936 James I. Phelps N. S. Corn Thomas L. Gibson
1937 Denver Davison
1938 T. H. Hurst
1939 Harris L. Danner
1940
1941 Ben Arnold
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947 John E. Luttrell
1948
1949 Napoleon B. Johnson Harry L. S. Halley C. T. O'Neal
1950
1951 George Bingaman
1952 Ben T. Williams W. H. Blackbird
1953
1954 Floyd L. Jackson
1955
1956 Albert C. Hunt
1957 W. A. Carlile
1958
1959 William A. Berry
1960 Pat Irwin
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966 Robert E. Lavender Ralph B. Hodges
1967 Rooney McInerney
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972 Don Barnes
1973 Robert D. Simms John B. Doolin
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978 Rudolph Hargrave
1979 Marian P. Opala
1980
1981
1982 Alma Wilson
1983
1984 Yvonne Kauger
1985
1986 Hardy Summers
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992 Joseph M. Watt
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999 Daniel J. Boudreau
2000 James R. Winchester
2001
2002
2003 James E. Edmondson
2004 Tom Colbert
2005 Steven W. Taylor
2006
2007
2008 John F. Reif
2009
2010
2011 Noma Gurich Doug Combs
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017 Patrick Wyrick
2018 Richard Darby
2019 M. John Kane IV Dustin Rowe
2020
2021 Dana Kuehn

Justices of the Oklahoma Territory Supreme Court

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References

  1. 1 2 "Oklahoma History", Oklahoma Almanac (July 23, 2012), p. 788.
  2. District number changed from District No. 4 to District No. 5 in 1917.
  3. District number changed from District No. 5 to District No. 4 in 1917.
  4. Snyder, Carmel Perez (July 12, 2004). "High court resignations trigger selection process: After a scandal in the '60s, nominations come from a nonpartisan commission". The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 29, 2004.