{{Short description|American judge (1922–2021)}} {{Multiple issues| {{more footnotes needed|date=August 2018}} {{more citations needed|date=December 2021}} }} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Joseph Wilson Morris | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma | term_start = 1975 | term_end = 1978 | predecessor = Frederick Alvin Daugherty | successor = Frank Howell Seay | office1 = Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma | term_start1 = April 12, 1974 | term_end1 = July 31, 1978 | nominator1 = | appointer1 = Richard Nixon | predecessor1 = Orville Edwin Langley | successor1 = Frank Howell Seay | pronunciation = | birth_name = Joseph Wilson Morris | birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|04|28}} | birth_place = Rice County, Kansas, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|11|11|1922|04|28}} | death_place = Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = Washburn University (A.B.)<br>Washburn University School of Law (LL.B.)<br>University of Michigan Law School (LL.M., S.J.D.) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }}
'''Joseph Wilson Morris''' (April 28, 1922 – November 11, 2021) was an American attorney, arbitrator, legal educator and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. He was a partner in the Tulsa, Oklahoma law firm of Gable Gotwals.
==Early life and education== Morris was born in Rice County, Kansas on April 28, 1922.<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|1694|nid=1385386|name=Joseph Wilson Morris<!--(1922–)-->}}</ref> He graduated from Reno Community High School in Nickerson, Kansas.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in political science from Washburn University in 1943. He received a Bachelor of Laws from the Washburn University School of Law in 1947 graduating first in his class and Order of the Coif. He received a Master of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School in 1948. Morris received a Doctor of Juridical Science from the same institution in 1955.<ref name="auto"/> In 1942, while a student at Washburn, Morris was initiated into the Kansas Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta.<ref name="Tribute"/> Morris was admitted to practice law in Kansas in 1947, in Oklahoma in 1949 and in Texas in 1978.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}
==Legal career== Morris spent three years as an ensign in the United States Navy Reserve from 1943 to 1946. After receiving his Master of Laws he was a staff attorney with Shell Oil Company from 1948 to 1960. Subsequently, he was general counsel of Amerada Petroleum Corporation from 1960 to 1969. He was a vice president and associate general counsel for the Amerada Hess Corporation from 1969 to 1972. In 1972, Morris left Amerada Hess to serve as dean of the University of Tulsa College of Law from 1972 to 1974.<ref name="auto"/>
==Federal judicial service== Morris was nominated by President Richard Nixon on March 19, 1974, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma vacated by Judge Orville Edwin Langley. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 5, 1974, and received his commission on April 12, 1974. He served as Chief Judge from 1975 to 1978. His service terminated on July 31, 1978, due to his resignation.<ref name="auto"/>
==Post judicial service== After he resigned from the federal bench, Morris became general counsel of the Shell Oil Company.<ref name="auto"/> He remained in that role until 1983 when he joined Gable Gotwals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.<ref name="Tribute"/> During the last 20 years, Morris has spent the majority of his time as an arbitrator in significant commercial arbitrations, both domestic and international.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}
==Professional and civic service== Morris was an adjunct professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law for over twenty years.<ref name="Tribute"/> He was president of the Tulsa County Bar Association in 1971.<ref name="Tribute"/> From 1977 to 1984 he was a member of the Board of Governors of the Washburn Law School.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} In 1983, he was chairman of the American Bar Association's Section of Natural Resources Law.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} He is a former vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Legal Foundation and an emeritus member of the Rand Corporation's Board of Overseers of the Institute for Civil Justice.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} Morris was formerly a regent of the State of Oklahoma's high education system and is currently a trustee of the Sarkeys Foundation.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}}
==Recognition and honors== In 1981 Washburn School of Law awarded Morris an honorary doctorate of laws.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} The Southwestern Legal Foundation awarded him the John Rogers Award in 1990.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} The Tulsa Historical Society inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1991.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} This was followed in 1994 by Washburn University bestowing on him its Distinguished Service Award.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} In 2008 Washburn Law awarded Morris its Distinguished Alumni Award.{{Citation needed|date=August 2018}} At Washburn Law School, The Honorable Joseph W. Morris Endowment Fund recognizes his service to the legal profession.<ref name="Tribute"/>
==Personal life and death== Morris and his first wife, Deane Conklin Morris, had three children. Following the death of his first wife, he married Dona Frank in July 1989.<ref name="Tribute">{{cite web |title=Judge Joseph W. Morris |url=https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/23068335/judge-joseph-w-morris |website=Tribute Archive |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> He died in Tulsa on November 11, 2021, at the age of 99.<ref name="Tribute"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.voicesofoklahoma.com/interview/morris-joe/ Voices of Oklahoma interview.] First person interview conducted on January 30, 2018, with Joe Morris.
==Sources== * {{FJC Bio|1694|nid=1385386|name=Joseph Wilson Morris<!--(1922–)-->}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Orville Edwin Langley}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma}}|years=1974–1978}} {{s-aft|rows=2|after=Frank Howell Seay}} {{s-bef|before=Frederick Alvin Daugherty}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma}}|years=1975–1978}} {{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Joseph Wilson}} Category:1922 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Category:United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon Category:Washburn University alumni Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni Category:People from Rice County, Kansas Category:Military personnel from Kansas Category:United States Navy officers Category:University of Tulsa College of Law faculty Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II Category:United States Navy reservists