Joseph Watt
From Ballotpedia
Joseph Watt
Prior offices
Oklahoma Supreme Court District 9
Education
Joseph M. Watt was a judge for District 9 of the Oklahoma Supreme Court . He was appointed to the court by Democratic Governor David Walters on May 18, 1992. He was retained by voters in 1996, 2002, and 2008.[1] He was retained again in 2014 for a term that would have expired on January 10, 2021.[2] He retired from the bench at the end of 2017.[3]
Education
Watt received his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University in 1969 and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1972.[4]
Career
- 1993-2017: Justice, Oklahoma Supreme Court
- 1985-1992: Judge, Oklahoma District 3
- 1980-1985: Altus City Attorney
- 1973-1980: Attorney in private practice[4]
Awards and associations
Awards
- Outstanding Law Student in the Nation, Delta Theta Phi upon his graduation from The University of Texas School of Law.[5]
Associations
- Past Secretary and President, Altus Rotary Club[4]
Elections
2014
Watt was retained to the Oklahoma Supreme Court with 59.9 percent of the vote on November 4, 2014. [2]
2008
Watt was retained with 63.7% of the vote.[1]
Noteworthy events
Suit filed against Watt
In 2005, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Marian P. Opala filed a suit in the Federal District Court in Oklahoma City against his eight colleagues for alleged age based discrimination. In his suit, Opala said that at 83 years old he "enjoys good health and sound mental acuity" and that he was unfairly denied the prestige of being chief justice, including the "ceremonial duties" and slightly higher salary.[6]
The Oklahoma Constitution allows members of the court to select their chief justice. Traditionally, the position of chief justice is rotated in two-year terms between justices who have served at least six years.[7] Opala, who joined the court in 1978, served as chief justice from 1991 to 1992. It was his turn to serve again starting in January 2005. However, in November the other justices decided to elect Chief Justice Watt to a second two-year term.[7] Opala called this “an unprecedented extension in the annals of Oklahoma judicial history."[6]
In July 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit dismissed Opala’s suit with prejudice.[7] Opala passed away on October 11, 2010 at the age of 89 after suffering from a stroke.[8][9]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Watt received a campaign finance score of -0.4, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of 0.33 that justices received in Oklahoma.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Oklahoma Justice Joseph Watt. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- The Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, "Justice Joseph M. Watt, District No. 9"
- Project Vote Smart, "Justice Joseph M. Watt (OK)"
- Questia, "Oklahoma Supreme Court sides with Midwest City in eminent domain," April 4, 2008
- News from Indian Country, "Oklahoma tribes disagree with state Supreme Court ruling on liability," February 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oklahoma Secretary of State, "2008 Election Results"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Oklahoma Elections, "Candidate List, 2014 General Election," accessed October 17, 2014
- ↑ Fox 25 News, "Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice announces plan to retire at the end of 2017," October 2, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, "Justice Joseph M. Watt, District No. 9," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ University of Texas School of Law, "Jospeh Watt, '72, Named Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court," January 22, 2003
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The New York Times, "Oklahoma Judge, 83, Files Bias Suit Against Colleagues," January 5, 2005
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Washburn Law, "Opala v. Watt"
- ↑ Sand Springs Leader.com, "Oklahoma State Supreme Court justice dies," October 11, 2010
- ↑ NewsOK, "Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Marian Opala has died," October 11, 2010
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
