OKLAHOMA CITY—Robert Henry of Oklahoma City is to become chief judge of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Tuesday.
“The chance for a small-town lawyer from Shawnee, OK, to work closely with such talented judges has just been the most amazing educational experience of my life,” said Henry, 53.
President Clinton nominated him to the Denver-based court that serves six states: Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Federal appeals courts are one step below the Supreme Court.
At age 23 and while at the University of Oklahoma law school, Henry was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and served from 1975 to 1986. He was state attorney general from 1987 to 1991 and dean of the Oklahoma City University law school from 1991 to 1994, when he joined the appeals court.
He and Gov. Brad Henry are cousins. Robert Henry spent last Wednesday afternoon cooking a family dinner in the governor’s mansion.
Chief judges typically serve one seven-year term. Henry replaces Judge Deanell Reece Tacha of Lawrence, Kan., whose term expired Monday.
Henry becomes chief judge because he is the most senior of the eligible active judges after Tacha.
As chief judge, Henry will oversee administration of the court, have 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. The chief justice of the United States heads the judicial conference.
Eight of the 12 active judges were appointed by President Reagan, former President Bush and the current president. The other four were appointed by President Clinton.
Henry said his colleagues sometimes “disagree strongly,” in part because of their backgrounds. But he noted that most of their decisions in three-judge panels are unanimous.
Despite their differences, the 10th Circuit judges are known nationally as a collegial group, Henry said.
After their legal disagreements in the courthouse, they go out and eat together.
He said his function as chief is to stay out of the way of the others in deciding cases.
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Information from: The Oklahoman,
