Supreme court justices visit OU law next week

Transcript Staff

The University of Oklahoma College of Law will make history next week when two U.S. Supreme Court justices participate in activities surrounding the investiture ceremony of Robert H. Henry to the position of chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

OU law students will view the proceedings as the Court sits for oral arguments at the OU Law Center on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. OU President David Boren will preside Thursday evening over a fireside chat with Stephen Breyer, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1994, and Sandra Day O'Connor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1981 to 2006. Justice Breyer also will address OU law students and faculty Thursday afternoon as keynote speaker for the Henry Family Lecture in Jurisprudence.

Henry, an OU alumnus who served as state representative from 1975 to 1986 and as state attorney general from 1987 to 1991, will be formally invested as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in ceremonies Friday. The investiture ceremony, which is open to OU students, faculty and staff, will begin 1:30 p.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 560 Parrington Oval. ?

"The university is proud to host this event, which honors one of our law graduates, Robert Henry, and his exceptional record as a member of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals," OU President David Boren said.

Justices Breyer and O'Connor will offer remarks during the investiture ceremony. Other participants, in addition to Boren and the Supreme Court justices, will be Gov. Brad Henry; Andrew M. Coats, university vice president and dean of the OU College of Law; soprano Leona Mitchell, who will sing the national anthem; and Pulitzer Prize-winner N. Scott Momaday, who will give a poetry reading. Remarks also will be offered by the outgoing chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Deanell Reece Tacha, and David M. Ebel, who has served on the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1988. Adding to the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony will be the Kiowa Black Leggings Society and the Pipes and Drums of the Highlanders, both well-known for their appearances at OU's commencement ceremonies.

Henry joined the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Denver-based court that serves Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, in 1994. As chief judge, Henry will oversee administration of the court, play a key role in misconduct complaints against federal judges in the six states and become a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policy-making body for the federal court system.

Henry was born in 1953 in Shawnee. He earned his bachelor of arts degree with high honors and his juris doctorate in 1974 and 1976, respectively, from OU. At age 23, a month before his graduation from law school, he defeated five other candidates in an election for a seat in the state House of Representatives. Henry became vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee by his second term. He later became chairman of both the Judiciary and Education committees and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee, where he was in a position to oversee all legislation affecting the judicial system in Oklahoma, as well as the Majority Caucus. During his time in the House, he also worked as a part-time associate in a Shawnee law firm.

Henry left the Legislature in 1986, when he was elected the state's attorney general; he was re-elected in 1990 without opposition. As the state's chief legal official, he not only supervised thousands of cases but also helped create a new state ethics commission and revamped the state's grand jury system. As AG, he also fought consumer fraud.

Henry has served as dean and professor of law in the Oklahoma City University School of Law from 1991 to 1994 and as visiting faculty at Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Tulsa.

He has been awarded numerous human rights, humanitarian and environmental awards in Oklahoma. In 2004, he was awarded the OU College of Arts and Sciences' Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 2005, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist appointed Henry as chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on International Judicial Relations.

A limited number of seats are available to OU students, faculty and staff for the Fireside Chat and Dinner. OU students, faculty and staff interested in attending the fireside chat and dinner Thursday can make reservations by calling the Action Line at 325-1212. No reservations are required for OU students, faculty and staff attending the investiture ceremony at the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center. Doors will open at 1 p.m. with overflow seating available in the Rupel Jones Theatre. For accommodations on the basis of disability for either event, call the Office of Special Events at 325-3784.