Joseph Michael Watt (born March 8, 1947) is a former

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

of 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.

, who assumed the post in 1992. He was reelected in 1994, 1996, and 2002. From 2003 to 2007, he served two terms as Chief Justice. In 2005, he was reelected to an unprecedented second term as Chief Justice, despite a federal

age discrimination Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler def ...

lawsuit filed by the Court's then-Vice Chief Justice Marian P. Opala, then 83 years old, who claimed Supreme Court rules were changed to prevent Opala from becoming chief justice. Justice Watt sent a letter to Governor Mary Fallin on October 2, 2017, stating that he would retire from the Oklahoma Supreme Court effective December 31, 2017.

Early life and education

Watt was born in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and graduated from Austin High School in 1965. In 1969, he earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

majoring in history and government from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. He earned his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1972.Joseph Watts's Biography."
Accessed November 20, 2017. In 1972, he was also named Outstanding Law Student in the Nation by the

Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta Phi () is a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. Delta Theta Phi is the only one of the two major law fraternities to charter chapters (senates) in the United States at non-American Bar A ...

Law Fraternity, and was elected to the University of Texas Circle of

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in ...

National Honorary Leadership."Joseph M. Watt." Oklahoma Civil Justice Council.
Accessed January 15, 2018. After being admitted to practice law in both Oklahoma and Texas in 1973, he moved to

Altus, Oklahoma Altus () is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,813 at the 2010 census, a loss of 7.7 percent compared to 21,454 in 2000. Altus is home to Altus Air Force Base, the United States Air F ...

, working in

private practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

until his appointment as the Altus city attorney in 1980, serving in that capacity until his appointment as a Special District Judge for Jackson County, Oklahoma in 1985. The following year, he was elected as an Associate Judge, serving in that capacity until 1991. From 1991 until Governor

David Walters David Lee Walters (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician who was the 24th governor of Oklahoma from 1991 to 1995. Born in Canute, Oklahoma, Walters was a project manager for Governor David Boren and the youngest executive officer w ...

appointed him to the state Supreme Court the following year, he served as General Counsel in the Office of the Governor. During his tenure on the state supreme court, he served as justice for the 9th Judicial District covering Harmon, Greer, Kiowa, Caddo, Canadian, Comanche, Jackson, Tillman and Cotton counties. Voters re-elected him to the state supreme court in 1994, 1996 and 2002. He also served as Vice-Chief Justice in 2001 and 2002. His colleagues on the court elected him as chief justice for the 2003-2004 term, followed by a second consecutive term in 2005.

Retirement

On October 2, 2017, Justice Watt sent a letter to Governor Mary Fallin announcing his intention to retire from active judicial service on December 31, 2017.Faught, Jamison. "OK Supreme Court Justice Joseph Watt to Retire." ''Muskogee Politico''. October 2, 2017.
Accessed November 20, 2017.

Family

Little has been published about Watt's private life, except that he is married to Cathy Watt, and has four children, and three grandchildren.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Joseph M. 1947 births Living people Chief justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Oklahoma lawyers People from Altus, Oklahoma Lawyers from Austin, Texas Texas Tech University alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges