Thomas Morrow Reavley Explained

Thomas Morrow Reavley
Office:Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Term Start:August 1, 1990
Term End:December 1, 2020
Office1:Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Term Start1:July 13, 1979
Term End1:August 1, 1990
Appointer1:Jimmy Carter
Predecessor1:Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629
Successor1:Emilio M. Garza
Office3:Texas Secretary of State
Term Start3:November 1, 1955
Term End3:January 16, 1957
Governor3:Allan Shivers
Predecessor3:Al Muldrow
Successor3:Zollie Steakley
Birth Date:21 June 1921
Birth Place:Quitman, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:Houston, Texas, U.S.
Education:University of Texas at Austin (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
University of Virginia (LLM)

Thomas Morrow Reavley (June 21, 1921 – December 1, 2020) was an American jurist who was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Biography

Reavley was born in Quitman, Texas. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas in 1942. While at the University of Texas, he was a member of the Tejas Club. He was in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946. As a naval lieutenant, Reavley drove President Franklin Roosevelt to Roosevelt’s meeting with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference.[1]

After World War II, he received a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1948. He later received a Master of Laws from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1983.

He was an assistant district attorney of Dallas, Texas, from 1948 to 1949. He was in private practice of law in Nacogdoches, Texas from 1949 to 1951. He was a county attorney of Nacogdoches County, Texas in 1951. He was in private practice of law in Lufkin, Texas from 1951 to 1952. He was in private practice of law in Jasper, Texas from 1952 to 1955. He was Texas Secretary of State from 1955 to 1957. He was in private practice of law in Austin, Texas from 1957 to 1964. He was a Judge of the 167 Judicial District in Austin, Texas from 1964 to 1968. He was a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas from 1968 to 1977. He was in private practice of law in Austin from 1977 to 1979. He was a Special Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1978.[2]

Federal judicial service

Reavley was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on May 17, 1979, to a new seat created by 92 Stat.1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 12, 1979, and received commission on July 13, 1979. He assumed senior status on August 1, 1990.[2]

Personal life

Reavley married fellow Fifth Circuit judge Carolyn Dineen King in August 2004.[3] He died on December 1, 2020, at the age of 99.[4]

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thomas Reavley, oldest active federal judge, dies at 99 . 2020-12-01 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230423184733/https://apnews.com/article/houston-judiciary-jimmy-carter-courts-texas-79d5fb73f667c6edc0afa0dcb1c733c6 . 2023-04-23 . live .
  2. Web site: Reavley, Thomas Morrow - Federal Judicial Center. www.fjc.gov.
  3. King . Carolyn Dineen . Carolyn Dineen King . Marcy Hogan Greer . Oral History of Carolyn Dineen King . Women Trailblazers in the Law . ABA Senior Lawyers Division . January 2011 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20171220132408/https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/directories/women_trailblazers/king_interview_3.authcheckdam.pdf . 2017-12-20 .
  4. Web site: Banks . Gabrielle . 2020-12-01 . Thomas Reavley, federal judge and friend of LBJ, dies at 99 in Houston . 2020-12-01 . Laredo Morning Times . en-US.