Joseph Wilson Morris (April 28, 1922 – November 11, 2021) was an American attorney, arbitrator and

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (in case citations, E.D. Okla. or E.D. Ok.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which ...

. He was a partner in the

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

law firm of Gable Gotwals.

Early life and education

Morris was born in

Rice County, Kansas Rice County (standard abbreviation: RC) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 9,427. The largest city and county seat is Lyons. The county was named in memory of Samuel Allen Rice, Bri ...

on April 28, 1922. He graduated from Reno Community High School in

Nickerson, Kansas Nickerson is a city in Reno County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,058. It was named in honor of Thomas Nickerson, former president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. History Nickerson ...

. He received an

Artium Baccalaureus 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 years ...

degree in political science from

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 u ...

in 1943. He received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

Washburn University School of Law The Washburn University School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Washburn Law was founded in 1903. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and has been a member of ...

in 1947 graduating first in his class and

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

. He received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

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 university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

in 1948. Morris received a

Doctor of Juridical Science A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree. Australia The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Unive ...

from the same institution in 1955. In 1942, while a student at Washburn, Morris was initiated into the Kansas Beta Chapter of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

. Morris was admitted to practice law in Kansas in 1947, 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 ...

in 1949 and in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in 1978.

Legal career

Morris spent three years as an ensign in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

from 1943 to 1946. After receiving his Master of Laws he was a staff attorney with

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...

from 1948 to 1960. Subsequently, he was general counsel of Amerada Petroleum Corporation from 1960 to 1969. He was a vice president and associate general counsel for the

Amerada Hess Corporation Hess Corporation (formerly Amerada Hess Corporation) is an American global independent energy company involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. It was formed by the merger of Hess Oil and Chemical and Amerada Petrol ...

from 1969 to 1972. In 1972, Morris left Amerada Hess to serve as dean of the

University of Tulsa College of Law The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United S ...

from 1972 to 1974.

Federal judicial service

Morris was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on March 19, 1974, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Orville Edwin Langley Orville Edwin Langley (October 28, 1908 – September 12, 1973) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Education and career Born on October 28, 1908, in Prague, Oklahoma, Lan ...

. He 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 April 5, 1974, and received his commission on April 12, 1974. He served as Chief Judge from 1975 to 1978. His service terminated on July 31, 1978, due to his resignation.

Post judicial service

After he resigned from the federal bench, Morris became general counsel of the

. He remained in that role until 1983 when he joined Gable Gotwals in

. During the last 20 years, Morris has spent the majority of his time as an arbitrator in significant commercial arbitrations, both domestic and international.

Professional and civic service

Morris was an adjunct professor at the

for over twenty years. He was president of the Tulsa County Bar Association in 1971. From 1977 to 1984 he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Washburn Law School. In 1983, he was chairman of the American Bar Association's Section of Natural Resources Law. He is a former vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Legal Foundation and an emeritus member of the Rand Corporation's Board of Overseers of the Institute for Civil Justice. Morris was formerly a regent of the State of Oklahoma's high education system and is currently a trustee of the Sarkeys Foundation.

Recognition and honors

In 1981 Washburn School of Law awarded Morris an honorary doctorate of laws. The Southwestern Legal Foundation awarded him the John Rogers Award in 1990. The Tulsa Historical Society inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1991. This was followed in 1994 by Washburn University bestowing on him its Distinguished Service Award. In 2008 Washburn Law awarded Morris its Distinguished Alumni Award. At Washburn Law School, The Honorable Joseph W. Morris Endowment Fund recognizes his service to the legal profession.

Personal life and death

Morris and his first wife, Deane Conklin Morris, had three children. Following the death of his first wife, he married Dona Frank in July 1989. He died in Tulsa on November 11, 2021, at the age of 99.

References

External links

Voices of Oklahoma interview.
First person interview conducted on January 30, 2018, with Joe Morris.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Joseph Wilson 1922 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American judges Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon Washburn University alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Rice County, Kansas Military personnel from Kansas United States Navy officers University of Tulsa College of Law faculty United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy reservists