Robert Lynn Batts (November 1, 1864 – May 19, 1935), known professionally as R. L. Batts, was a

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. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

Education and career

Born in Bastrop,

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 ...

, Batts 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

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

in 1886 and entered private practice in Bastrop from 1886 to 1891. He was an assistant state attorney general of Texas from 1891 to 1893. He was then a professor of law at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

from 1893 to 1900. He was in private practice in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Texas from 1900 to 1917.

Federal judicial service

Batts was nominated by President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

on January 17, 1917, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Andrew Phelps McCormick Andrew Phelps McCormick (December 18, 1832 – November 2, 1916) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Fifth Circuit and previously was a Uni ...

. 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 February 5, 1917, and received his commission the same day. Batts resigned on August 22, 1919.

Post judicial service and death

Batts was general counsel to

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

from 1919 to 1923. He returned to private practice in Austin from 1924 to 1935. He died on May 19, 1935.

Selected published work

* (print book); (print book); (online); (online) * (print book); (print book); (online); (online)
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Bibliography

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Batts, R. L. 1864 births 1935 deaths Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Woodrow Wilson 20th-century American judges People from Bastrop, Texas