Richard Darby (born 1958) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and the 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.

. On April 5, 2018, Governor

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 ...

appointed Darby to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Joseph M. Watt. In his new position, Darby represents the 9th Judicial District, which includes Harmon, Greer, Jackson, Kiowa, Tillman, Cotton, Comanche, Caddo and Canadian counties."Judge Darby Appointed To Supreme Court." ''Lawton Constitution.'' April 6, 2018.
Accessed June 24, 2018. Prior to this new appointment, Darby had served as District Judge for the 3rd Judicial District covering Jackson, Kiowa, Tillman, Greer and Harmon counties. That assignment began in 1994. Before that, he had been a special judge and an associate district judge for Jackson County.Schwab, Kyle. "New justice named to the Oklahoma Supreme Court." NewsOK. April 5, 2018.
Accessed June 24, 2018. He became Chief Judge on January 1, 2021.

Education

Darby earned his

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 ...

in political science from

Southwestern Oklahoma State University Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a public university in Weatherford and Sayre, Oklahoma. It is one of six Regional University System of Oklahoma members. History SWOSU was first established through an act of the Oklahoma Ter ...

and his Juris Doctor 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 ...

Legal career

Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, Richard Darby was a state district court judge in the 3rd Judicial District for 24 years from 1994 to 2018. Darby presided over both civil and criminal cases, as well as assigning cases to six other judges in the district. He also managed a staff consisting of a secretary, a bailiff and 5 court reporters. In 2014, he ran unopposed for retention, so he was returned to the district court without appearing on the ballot."Darby, Richard." ''Ballotpedia''. Undated.
Accessed September 6, 2018. Before that, he served as a special judge and an associate district judge in

Jackson County, Oklahoma Jackson County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,446. Its county seat is Altus. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'', the coun ...

Personal

Darby has been married to Dana Darby, Ph.D, who is superintendent of Altus Christian Academy. They have two sons: Ben, a communications officer for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, his wife Rebecca and son Chevy, and Jon, a student at Universal Technical Institute in Irving, Texas.

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External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, Richard 1958 births 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Lawyers from Oklahoma City Living people Oklahoma state court judges People from Altus, Oklahoma People from Jackson County, Oklahoma Southwestern Oklahoma State University alumni University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni