Patrick Robert Wyrick (born March 11, 1981) is a

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 Western District of Oklahoma The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (in case citations, W.D. Okla. or W.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 ...

and a former Associate 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.

. Wyrick previously served as Solicitor General in the

Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is an agency of the Oklahoma state government that is headed by the Attorney General of Oklahoma. The OAG is responsible for supervising the administration of justice across the State, providing legal ass ...

from 2011 to 2017.

Education and early career

Wyrick was born in

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, Grayson County, Texas, United States. It is south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. The population was 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one ...

, and raised in

Atoka, Oklahoma Atoka is a city in and the county seat of Atoka County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,107 at the 2010 census, an increase of 4.0 percent from the figure of 2,988 in 2000. The city was settled by the Choctaw and named in 1867 by ...

, where he graduated from Atoka High School. He earned 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 years ...

degree from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

in 2004, majoring in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

and

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

, and received a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

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 2007. Wyrick clerked for Judge James H. Payne 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 ...

from 2007–2008. Wyrick was an associate at the

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 ...

law firm GableGotwals from 2008 to 2011, when he was hired by the office of

Oklahoma Attorney General The Attorney General of Oklahoma is the State Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the State of Oklahoma and head of the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General. ...

Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt (born May 9, 1968) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma. He served as the fourteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from February 17, 2017, to July ...

to become the state's first solicitor general. Wyrick argued on behalf of the state in numerous cases before the

and in federal courts. Notably, he argued before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in the lethal injection case ''

Glossip v. Gross ''Glossip v. Gross'', 576 U.S. 863 (2015), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held, 5–4, that lethal injections using midazolam to kill prisoners convicted of capital crimes do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment ...

'' (2015), where the court ruled in Oklahoma's favor by a 5–4 vote. Justices

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...

and

Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...

questioned Wyrick "forcefully" and "intensely" during oral arguments in the case.

State judicial service

justice

Steven W. Taylor Steven W. Taylor (born June 7, 1949) is a former Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He is a former mayor of McAlester, Oklahoma. As a state district court judge, Taylor was the presiding judge in the state trial of the Oklahoma City ...

retired on December 31, 2016. The

Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission {{Update, inaccurate=yes, date=May 2021 The Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission is the judicial nominating commission of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It selects potential justices and judges for gubernatorial appointments for judges for state ...

submitted three names of potential nominees to replace Taylor to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She was the first and s ...

. Wyrick and two

Oklahoma district court The Oklahoma Court System is the judicial system for the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Based in Oklahoma City, the court system is a unified state court system that functions under the Chief Justice of Oklahoma who is its administrator-in-chief. Unde ...

judges, Mark Campbell and Jonathan Sullivan, were nominated by the commission. Fallin selected Wyrick for the vacancy, and he was appointed on February 9, 2017. He was elected Vice Chief Justice on November 15, 2018, for a term starting January 1, 2019. His tenure as an associate justice ended on April 10, 2019, when he received his commission as a federal district judge. The

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

(ACLU) of Oklahoma, acting on behalf of two Oklahoma residents, filed a lawsuit challenging Wyrick's appointment, arguing that he did not meet residency requirements for his judgeship. The

dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the two residents lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

to sue. On November 17, 2017, Wyrick was named by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

as a potential nominee to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Wyrick ran in the

retention election A judicial retention election (or retention referendum) is a periodic process in some jurisdictions whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are ...

in November

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

for a new six-year term. He was retained, with 62% of voters voting to retain him.

Federal judicial service

On April 10, 2018, President

nominated Wyrick to serve as a United States District Judge of the

. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge

David Lynn Russell David Lynn Russell (born July 7, 1942) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern ...

, who assumed

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

on July 7, 2013. On May 23, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

. On June 14, 2018, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote. On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of 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 January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Wyrick for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On April 9, 2019, the Senate voted to invoke

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ...

on his nomination by a 53–46 vote. He was confirmed later that day by a 53–47 vote. He received his judicial commission on April 10, 2019. On February 3, 2023, he dismissed an indictment against a man who was charged with violating the federal ban on owning a firearm and using marijuana, ruling that the ban was unconstitutional in the wake of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ban-marijuana-users-owning-guns-is-unconstitutional-us-judge-rules-2023-02-04/

Memberships

He has been a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquartered ...

since approximately 2011.United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Patrick Wyrick
/ref>

Electoral history

;2018

References

External links

*
Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court
from the

Oyez Project The Oyez Project at the Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law is an unofficial online multimedia archive of the Supreme Court of the United States, especially audio of oral arguments. The website "aims to be a complete an ...

*
Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees
for the

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

Contributor profile
from the

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyrick, Patrick 1981 births Living people 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Federalist Society members Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma Oklahoma lawyers Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court People from Atoka, Oklahoma Solicitors General of Oklahoma United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump University of Oklahoma alumni University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni