Tom Colbert

Justice Tom Colbert, the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, was born in Oklahoma City. He graduated from Sapulpa High School, earned an associate’s degree from Eastern Oklahoma State College in 1970 and a bachelor of science degree from Kentucky State University in 1973. While at Kentucky State, Justice Col­bert was named an All-American in track and field. Justice Colbert served in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge in 1975.

He earned a master of education degree from Eastern Kentucky Univer­sity in 1976 and taught in the public schools in Chicago. Justice Colbert received his J.D. from OU in 1982. He was an assistant dean at Marquette University Law School from 1982-1984 and an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma County from 1984-1986, before entering private law practice at Miles-LaGrange & Colbert from 1986-1989. Justice Colbert continued his practice under the name Colbert and Associates from 1989-2000. He also served as an attorney for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services from 1988-89 and in 1999.

In March 2000, Justice Colbert became the first African-American appointed to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. He was appointed by Gov. Frank Keating. He served as chief judge of that court in 2004.

On Oct. 7, 2004, Gov. Brad Henry appointed Justice Colbert to the Okla­homa Supreme Court. In January 2011, Justice Colbert was sworn in as the first African-American vice chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. On Jan. 1, 2013, Justice Colbert became the first African-American to be sworn in as chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Justice Colbert is a member of the National Bar Association, Oklahoma Bar Association and Tulsa County Bar Association. He participates in the Track & Field Masters Level, a mentoring program for young men, and a summer reading program for children and is a frequent speaker at schools.

Justice Colbert has been honored with many distinguished awards such as: Tulsa Community College Service Award (2004), East­ern Oklahoma State College Hall of Fame (2005), Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence (2005), OU Black Alumni Society – Trailblazer Award (2005), Kentucky State University Athletic Hall of Fame (2006), Black Heritage Trailblazer Award (2006 and 2011), St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation – Lifetime Achievement Award (2009), NABCJ – Oklahoma Criminal Justice Hall of Fame (2012), HBCU Awards – Male Alumnus of the Year (2013), Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges – Hall of Fame (2013), Oklahoma City/County Historical Society – Pathmaker Award (2013), the Urban League – Vilona P. Cutler Award (2013) and Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Diversity Award (2013), Oklahoma Association of Community College Hall of Fame (2013), University of Oklahoma Law School’s Order of the Coif (2013), University of Tulsa College of Law Hall of Fame (2014), HBCU Hall of Fame (2015), University of Oklahoma Order of the Owl Hall of Fame (2016) and Oklahoma Hall of Fame (2016).

Richard Darby

Richard Darby currently serves as Vice Chief Justice for the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin in April 2018, Justice Darby serves the court for District Nine, which is located in southwest Oklahoma and reaches up to and includes Canadian County. He also is a member of the Appellate Division of the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary. Justice Darby previously was district judge a total of 23 years for the Third Judicial District, which includes five counties surrounding Altus. Prior to that, he served as special judge for four years, then associate district judge for four years, both in Jackson County.

Justice Darby received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1984 and practiced law in Altus prior to beginning his judicial career. Before law school he graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University where he received a B.A. in political science. As a child, he worked for the family furniture store in Duke, started by his grandfather in 1906. His fondest memories are trips to Altus after work for nine holes of golf with his dad and two older brothers, followed by dinner at their favorite restaurant.

Justice Darby is married to Dr. Dana Darby who is head of school for Altus Christian Academy. They are proud parents of two adult sons, Ben and Jonathan. Justice Darby and his wife both grew up in Duke, Oklahoma.

He is a prior President of the Altus Rotary Club, Rotarian of the Year and Oklahoma Court Reporters Association Judge of the Year.

John Kane

Justice Kane was appointed to the Supreme Court in September 2019 by Gov. J. Kevin Stitt. Previously, Justice Kane of Pawhuska had served Osage County as district judge since 2005. He presided as a judge in thousands of cases during his 14 years on the bench. He served in several leadership positions including Oklahoma Judicial Conference president from 2013-2014, Northeast Judicial Administrative District presiding judge in 2019 and as Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary presiding judge in 2019.

He first started practicing law in 1987 with his father and grandfather at Kane, Kane & Kane Law Offices, a law firm with offices in Pawhuska and Skiatook. During that period, he also served as an administrative law judge for the Department of Human Services Child Support Division from 1999-2005 and as an assistant district attorney from 1987-1989.

Justice Kane earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and accounting from Oklahoma State University in 1984 and a juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1987.

He and his wife, Cynthia, have been married for more than 30 years and have four children.

Historical Fact: His great grandfather, Matthew John Kane, served on the first Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1907 to 1923.

Robert L. Hudson

Judge Robert L. Hudson was appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals on March 11, 2015, by Gov. Mary Fallin. He was born in Guthrie and graduated from Guthrie High School in 1975. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1980 with a double major in agricultural economics and accounting. He earned his juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1983.

After graduating from law school, Judge Hudson was in the private practice of law in Guthrie, Oklahoma from 1983 to 1996. In April 1996 he was appointed by then Gov. Frank Keating as District Attorney for Payne and Logan Counties, a post he was re-elected to four consecutive terms. In 2011, Judge Hudson left the District Attorney’s Office and accepted the position of First Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Attorney General. In November 2012, he became Special Judge in the 9th Judicial District, where he served the citizens of Logan and Payne Counties for over two years before being appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Among Judge Hudson’s achievements, honors and awards, in 1980 he was named OSU’s College of Agriculture’s Most Outstanding Graduate and one of OSU’s Top five Graduating Senior Men. While in law school, he was a member of the 1983 Regional Winning National Mock Trial Team. In 2000 and 2011, he was named the state’s Outstanding District Attorney by the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association and served two terms as President of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association (2000 & 2008).

Judge Hudson is a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class XVII. He served as a Commissioner for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation for nearly 10 years. Judge Hudson has been married for 39 years. His wife, Mary Hughes Hudson, of Bartlesville, is a public schoolteacher and coach. They have five adult children and numerous grandchildren. Judge Hudson also owns and operates a wheat, hay and cow-calf operation in the Guthrie area. He is a Deacon in the First Southern Baptist Church of Guthrie and has led a Sunday School class there for 35 years.

Gary L. Lumpkin

Originally a native of Sentinel, Oklahoma, Judge Lumpkin and his wife subsequently established their home in Madill. He graduated from Weatherford High School in 1964, attended Northwestern State College, Alva, 1964-65 and graduated from Southwestern State College, Weatherford, with a B.S., Business Administration degree in 1968. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1974.

Judge Lumpkin served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1968-1971, serving 18 months in Vietnam. He retired with 30 years of service on June 1, 1998, with the rank of Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. He completed his military service as one of only two Marine Reserve judges assigned to the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. After working as a staff attorney with the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Affairs and a consultant with a non-profit organization, he was appointed Assistant District Attorney, Marshall County, in 1976, and subsequently First Assistant District Attorney, 20th District. Judge Lumpkin served as Associate District Judge, Marshall County, 1982-1985, and District Judge, 20th Judicial District, Division II, 1985-1989. Appointed to the Court of Criminal Appeals by Gov. Henry Bellmon, he commenced his service on the Court of Criminal Appeals in January 1989.

He has served as Vice-Presiding Judge 1991-1992; 1999-2000; 2005-2006; 2015-2016 and as Presiding Judge 1993-1994; 2001-2002; 2007-2008, 2017-2018.

He was selected as an Outstanding Young Man of America by the U.S. Jaycees in 1979 and Outstanding Assistant District Attorney of the 3rd Congressional District by the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association in 1981. Recipient of the 1999 William J. Holloway, Jr. Professionalism Award presented by the William J. Holloway, Jr. American Inn of Court. Selected 2007 Distinguished Alumnus by Southwestern Oklahoma State University and joined the University Hall of Fame.

He is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association (Past Chairperson Criminal Law Committee, Past-Chairman of Access to Justice Committee); Oklahoma Bar Foundation (Benefactor Member); Oklahoma County Bar Association and the Marshall County Bar Association; Past-Chairperson, Oklahoma Access to Justice Commission; William J. Holloway, Jr. American Inns of Court CV (President Elect, Program Committee Chair 1992; President 1993); Oklahoma Judicial Conference (Past-President and Secretary-Treasurer); Life Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4611/4869; Rotary Club of Oklahoma City; Past Member of Advisory Board, Junior League of Oklahoma City; Oklahoma Marine Corps Coordination Council (Member of Board of Directors); and the Marine Corps Reserve Association. He also serves as a member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Committee on Uniform Civil Jury Instructions and the Court liaison to the Court of Criminal Appeals Uniform Criminal Jury Instruction Committee. Member of Conference of Chief Justices. From June 2001 to July 2007 Judge Lumpkin served as a member of the Board of Directors, National Center of State Courts, Williamsburg, VA.

Judge Lumpkin and his wife, Barbara, have one child, Richard Houston Lumpkin, and are members of Waterloo Road Baptist Church.

Born in 1954 in Tulsa, Judge Barnes is a graduate of Charles Page High School in Sand Springs. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism majoring in public relations from the University of Oklahoma in 1976, and in 1983, a Juris Doctor degree with distinction from the Oklahoma City University School of Law, where she graduated first in her class. During undergraduate school, she was a recipient of the President’s Leadership Class Scholarship. While in law school, she served as articles editor of the Law Review, participated on the National Moot Court Team, received various honors including several American Jurisprudence Awards, Faculty Award for Most Likely to Succeed, Woman’s Law Caucus Award for outstanding seminar paper, Oklahoma City Title Attorney’s Association Award for outstanding work in property and related courses, and the C.J.S. Award for the student contributing most to legal scholarship.

Judge Barnes began her legal career as an attorney with Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City and subsequently as staff attorney for the late Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Ralph Hodges. In 1989 she resumed private practice at Stack and Barnes in Oklahoma City until 1991, when she moved to Tulsa to join Transok. Judge Barnes was named vice president, human resources and administration for Transok in 1996, and later became vice president, secretary and associate general counsel for ONEOK Inc., from 1997-2001. She served as a member on the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce Human Resources Committee and as a founding member of the Oklahoma State University Business Extension Management Development Cooperative Advisory Board.

In 2002 she joined the firm of Crutchmer, Browers, and Barnes as a partner. In 2008 Governor Brad Henry appointed her to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. She was retained in a statewide vote in 2010 and 2014. She was elected chief judge for 2014. Before practicing law, she served as Christian Education Director for First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Edmond and as the Summer School Lunch Program Coordinator for underprivileged children with the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Judge Barnes is a member of the American, Oklahoma and Tulsa bar associations and past chairperson of the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners. She is an Oklahoma Fellow of the American Bar Foundation; served as chair of the OBA Mineral Law Section; chair of the Tulsa County Court Operations Committee; and was a barrister of the American Inns of Court, Council Oak Chapter of Tulsa. She has served on the OCU Law Executive Board since 2001.

Judge Barnes was the recipient of the Mona Salyer Lambird Spotlight Award from the OBA Women in Law Committee; a three-time honoree (Circle of Excellence) of the Journal Record’s Women of the Year in 1997, 2012 and 2013; was inducted into the Sand Springs Education Foundation Hall of Fame and received the Outstanding OCU Law Review Alumni of the Year Award and the Alumnus Achievement and Service Award. She previously taught oil and gas law as an adjunct professor at the University of Tulsa’s Collins College of Business. She has published several legal articles and presented at various legal and civic programs throughout her career.

Her community activities have included serving as a mentor in the Tulsa Public Schools Mentoring Program, former director of the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum, boards of the Tulsa Petroleum Club, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, OASIS Adult Daycare, and as the Tulsa Area United Way campaign chair for Transok. Judge Barnes has served on the Delta Delta Delta Housing Corporation Board for the Theta Gamma Chapter and is a past president of the Beta Theta Pi Parents’ Club at the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class XII and serves on the board of elders for Harvard Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tulsa.

She has been admitted to practice in all Oklahoma State Courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Northern Districts of Oklahoma and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She held an AV Martindale-Hubbell rating since 1989 until her appointment to the court in 2008. Judge Barnes has been married to attorney Ronald M. Barnes since 1974, and they have one grown son, Grayson M. Barnes, also an attorney, both with Barnes Law in Tulsa, his wife Laura, and one granddaughter.

W. Keith Rapp

Born in Ohio, Judge Rapp received a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Missouri University, a J.D. from TU and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia. He was named Outstanding First-Year Law Student, awarded a Scholarship Key, named three times to the dean’s list and was a member of the Tulsa Law Review.

He is a former aerospace engineer specializing in guidance and navigation systems working on the Mercury, Apollo, Lunar Lander and Skylab projects. He has publications in engineering, history and law including original research in mathematics.

Judge Rapp worked as a pub­lic defender in the 14th Judicial District; a city prosecutor in Broken Arrow; a municipal judge in Bixby; an alternative municipal judge for the City of Tulsa, and as district court judge. He was elected as judge to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals in 1984, where he has served as vice chief and chief judge.

He also served as regent of the Tulsa Community College. He served as counsel and director of banks and as director of two national insurance companies. He served two aircraft carrier tours off Korea and Formosa as a navigator/bombardier and served as an instructor of Sino-Soviet relations and atomic and biological warfare in the Naval Reserves Officers’ School, and as a business law instructor at Tulsa Junior College.

He is a member of the Oklahoma and Tulsa County bar associations together with the Federal Bar. He is a prize-win­ning watercolorist and a member of Tulsa Arts Council advisory board. He married the former Mary Lynn Clanton and has three children – Elizabeth, Kathy and Joseph.

Jane P. Wiseman

Jane P. Wiseman is currently the Chief Judge of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals and serves on the Tulsa Divisions of the court. She received a B.A. from Cornell University, a M.A. in American history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a J.D. from TU. In her second term in law school, she began clerking for Rosenstein, Fist & Ringold, continuing as a legal intern and then practicing as an associate until her first child was born when she practiced as a sole practitioner until being appointed a special district judge for Tulsa County.

Gov. George Nigh appointed her a district judge in 1981 when she was assigned to the family relations division and then to the civil division. As a trial judge, she tried close to 1,000 jury trials. In March 2005, Gov. Brad Henry appointed her to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals in Tulsa where she currently serves.

She has served as president of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference and currently serves on its Education and Diversity Committees. She has served on the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev., where she taught case management. Judge Wiseman has served on the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Professionalism Committee, Evidence Committee and the OBA Special Task Force on Tort Reform. She is active with the Tulsa County Bar Association, serving on its Awards and Nominations and Bench and Bar Committees and as a frequent continuing legal education presenter.

She is married to Jim Hodges and has two sons, Jamie and John Wiseman, and two grandchildren.