Deanell Reece Tacha (born January 26, 1946) is a retired

United States Circuit Judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...

who served on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Distr ...

. She was the Dean of the

Pepperdine University School of Law The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law (formerly Pepperdine University School of Law) is the law school of Pepperdine University, a private research university in Los Angeles County, California. The school offers the Juris D ...

from 2011 to 2016.

Education and career

Born in Goodland,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, Tacha received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in 1968 and a Juris Doctor from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

in 1971. She was a

White House Fellow The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Corp ...

and special assistant to the Secretary of Labor at the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemploy ...

from 1971 to 1972. She was in private practice in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and Concordia, Kansas from 1973 to 1974. She then served as Director of the Douglas County Legal Aid Clinic in

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, Kansas until 1977. She was also on the faculty of the

University of Kansas School of Law The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had e ...

from 1974 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

On October 31, 1985, Tacha was nominated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ronald Reagan to a new seat on the

created by 98 Stat. 333. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on December 16, 1985, and received her commission the same day. She served as Chief Judge of the Circuit from 2001 to 2008, and was succeeded by Judge

Robert Harlan Henry Robert Harlan Henry (born April 3, 1953) is a former United States Circuit Judge and politician from Oklahoma, and was the 17th President of Oklahoma City University. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Henry formerly served as the Attorne ...

. She also served as a member of the

United States Sentencing Commission The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for articulating the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for the federal courts. The Commission promulgate ...

from 1994 to 1998. Tacha took

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on January 27, 2011. She retired completely on June 1, 2011.

Post judicial service

In 2008, Tacha received the 26th Annual Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award from the

American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...

. On February 10, 2011, Tacha was named Dean of the

, taking up that post after retiring from the federal bench on June 1, 2011. She retired as Dean of Pepperdine University School of Law on December 31, 2016. She serves as chair of the executive committee of the University of Kansas Endowment.

References

Sources

Deanell Reece Tacha profile
fjc.gov; accessed June 8, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tacha, Deanell Reece 1946 births Living people Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Kansas lawyers Deans of law schools in the United States Women deans (academic) Members of the United States Sentencing Commission People from Lawrence, Kansas People from Goodland, Kansas United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century American judges University of Kansas alumni University of Kansas faculty University of Michigan Law School alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. White House Fellows Pepperdine University faculty American academic administrators Women legal scholars 20th-century American women judges

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Post judicial service

See also

References

Sources