Matthew John Kane IV (born April 8, 1962) is an American attorney and judge serving as Chief Justice 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.

. Kane was appointed the state's highest court by Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he began his first term as governor in January 2019 and was reelected to a second t ...

in 2019. He was elected to a two year term as Chief Justice, commencing January 1, 2023. He had previously served as the Vice Chief Justice for 2021-2022.

Education

Chief Justice Kane graduated from Pawhuska High School. Kane earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in 1984, where he was recognized as one of the Top Ten Graduating Senior Men. Chief Justice Kane was awarded his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

University of Oklahoma College of Law The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Boar ...

in 1987.

Career

Kane began practicing law in 1987 at his father and grandfather's law firm, Kane, Kane & Kane Law Offices, P.C. in

Pawhuska, Oklahoma Pawhuska ( osa, 𐓄𐓘𐓢𐓶𐓮𐓤𐓘 / hpahúska, ''meaning: "White Hair"'', iow, Paháhga) is a city in and the county seat of Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named after the 19th-century Osage chief, ''Paw-Hiu-Skah'', wh ...

. From 1987 to 1989, he served as an assistant district attorney and from 1999 to 2005, he served as an administrative law judge for the

Oklahoma Department of Human Services The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma. Under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Health and Human Services, OKDHS is responsible for providing help to individuals and families in nee ...

Child Support Division.

State judicial service

From 2005 to 2019, Kane served as district judge for the 10th Judicial District in Osage County. On September 17, 2019, Governor

announced the appointment of Kane to the

to the seat vacated by Justice John F. Reif. He began a term as Vice Chief Justice on January 1, 2021.

Personal life

Kane is the great-grandson of Matthew John Kane, a member of Oklahoma's first Supreme Court. He is married to Cyndi "Hyacinth" Kane, author, entrepreneur and friend of

Ree Drummond Anne Marie "Ree" Drummond (née Smith, born January 6, 1969) is an American blogger, author, food writer, photographer and television personality who lives on a working ranch outside of Pawhuska, Oklahoma with her husband. In February 2010, s ...

References

External links

Governor Stitt appoints Judge Kane to Supreme Court of Oklahoma
Office of Governor Kevin Stitt , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, M. John 1962 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court District attorneys in Oklahoma Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Living people Oklahoma Republicans Oklahoma state court judges Oklahoma State University alumni People from Pawhuska, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni