Justice Reavley to speak at May commencement
By: Tara Powdrill
Issue date: 5/7/09 Section: News
Justin Thomas Morrow Reavley, Senior Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, will visit SFA to address the new graduates at the commencement ceremony next week.
As a Texas native, Nacogdoches High School graduate and former SFA student, Justice Reavley has created a name for himself in East Texas and the law profession. He has practiced law in cities across Texas, including Dallas, Houston, Austin, Nacogdoches, Jasper and Lufkin.
In 1955, he served as the Secretary of State of Texas for a two-year term; in 1957, he held a private practice in Austin until 1964 and served as a judge for the 167th Judicial District in Austin for the next four years. In October 1968, Gov.John Connally appointed him the associate judge of the Texas Supreme Court. He served for nearly a decade.
He later was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1979 and received his senior status in August 1990.
Reavley graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas, served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then entered Harvard Law School. There he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1948. He has been a visiting professor and lecturer in law for universities such as University of Texas, Baylor, Pepperdine University, Texas Tech and South Texas College of Law.
He now resides in Houston with his wife, Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King. Reavley has two daughters, two sons, four grandchildren and one great-grandson.
SFA commencement ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
As a Texas native, Nacogdoches High School graduate and former SFA student, Justice Reavley has created a name for himself in East Texas and the law profession. He has practiced law in cities across Texas, including Dallas, Houston, Austin, Nacogdoches, Jasper and Lufkin.
In 1955, he served as the Secretary of State of Texas for a two-year term; in 1957, he held a private practice in Austin until 1964 and served as a judge for the 167th Judicial District in Austin for the next four years. In October 1968, Gov.John Connally appointed him the associate judge of the Texas Supreme Court. He served for nearly a decade.
He later was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1979 and received his senior status in August 1990.
Reavley graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas, served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then entered Harvard Law School. There he received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1948. He has been a visiting professor and lecturer in law for universities such as University of Texas, Baylor, Pepperdine University, Texas Tech and South Texas College of Law.
He now resides in Houston with his wife, Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King. Reavley has two daughters, two sons, four grandchildren and one great-grandson.
SFA commencement ceremony will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, in the William R. Johnson Coliseum.
Be the first to comment on this story