Benjamin Cleveland Arnold (1891–1972) was an attorney and judge in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. He earned a B. A. degree in 1920 and a law degree in 1924 from

Oklahoma University , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. His first judgeship was as a district judge in

Oklahoma County Oklahoma County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 718,633, making it the most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Oklahoma City, the state capital and largest ci ...

, near

Wister, Oklahoma Wister is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area. The population was 1,102 at the 2010 census. Wister is named for Gutman G. Wister, an official with the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railro ...

. In 1941, Governor

Leon C. Phillips Leon Chase "Red" Phillips (December 9, 1890 – March 27, 1958) was an American attorney, a state legislator and the 11th governor of Oklahoma from 1939 to 1943. As a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and as Speaker of the Oklahom ...

appointed Arnold as Associate Justice on the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

, representing District 3. He served as chief justice from 1951 to 1953. Arnold died while in office on September 30, 1955, and was succeeded by

Albert C. Hunt Albert C. Hunt (1888–1956) was an American lawyer and judge. He was the only person to serve on the Oklahoma Supreme Court from two different districts. Early life Hunt was born to William T. and Mattie Rose Hunt in Clarksville, Arkansas, on ...

. During the 1930s,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

officials established a new drilling zone inside the city, including a area around the state capitol building. In March 1936, Governor E. W. Marland ordered the National Guard into the Oklahoma City field to prevent civil process servers from ordering the oil field workers to shut down production. Arnold declared that the property was state land and that city officials had no jurisdiction over it. A genealogy site states that Arnold's full name was Benjamin Cleveland Arnold, son of Martin Luther Arnold and Nancy Elizabeth (née Hughes), and that he was born February 19, 1891, in

Newark, Arkansas Newark is a city in Independence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,180 at the 2020 census. The local high school has won three basketball state championships, two quiz bowl state titles, and one softball state championship. T ...

, and had nine siblings."Judge Benjamin Cleveland Arnold." Geni.com. Posted December 8, 2019.
Accessed March 12, 2020. The same site also stated that he died March, 1972 in Oklahoma City. The death year should be 1955, according to other sources. He was interred in Oklahoma City at Memorial Park Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Ben Lawyers from Oklahoma City 1891 births 1955 deaths People from Independence County, Arkansas Chief Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court University of Oklahoma alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges