{{Short description|American judge (1931–2021)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Thomas Rutherford Brett | honorific_suffix = | image = Thomas_R_Brett.png | alt = | caption = | office = Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma | term_start = October 3, 1996 | term_end = February 1, 2003 | office1 = Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma | term_start1 = 1994 | term_end1 = 1996 | predecessor1 = James O. Ellison | successor1 = Terence C. Kern | office2 = Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma | term_start2 = November 2, 1979 | term_end2 = October 3, 1996 | nominator2 = | appointer2 = Jimmy Carter | predecessor2 = ''Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629'' | successor2 = Claire Eagan | pronunciation = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|10|02}} | birth_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|02|06|1931|10|02}} | 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 = University of Oklahoma (BBA)<br>University of Oklahoma College of Law (LLB, JD) | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = | allegiance = {{flag|United States of America}} | branch = United States Army<br>United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps | service_years = 1954-1955<br>1955-1981 | rank = Colonel <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }}
'''Thomas Rutherford Brett''' (October 2, 1931 – February 6, 2021) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.<ref>'Oklahoma Almanac 1997-1998,' Oklahoma Department of Libraries: 1997, Biographical Sketch of Thomas R. Brett, pg. 323</ref>
==Education and career==
Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Brett received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1952, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1957, and a Juris Doctor from the same institution in 1971. He was a lieutenant in the United States Army from 1954 to 1955, and was thereafter a reserve colonel in the United States Army JAG Corps until 1981. He was an assistant county attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1957 to 1958, and was then in private practice in Tulsa until 1979.<ref name="auto">{{FJC Bio|250|nid=1378216|name=Thomas Rutherford Brett<!--(1931–)-->}}</ref>
==Federal judicial service==
On September 28, 1979, Brett was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 31, 1979, and received his commission on November 2, 1979. He served as Chief Judge from 1994 to 1996, assuming senior status on October 3, 1996. Brett served in that capacity until his retirement on February 1, 2003.<ref name="auto"/>
== Death == Brett died on February 6, 2021, at age 89, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stanley |first=Tim |date=February 9, 2021 |title=Former U.S. District Judge Thomas R. Brett dies at 89 |url=https://tulsaworld.com/obituaries/localobituaries/former-u-s-district-judge-thomas-r-brett-dies-at-89/article_4eed1a44-6a4a-11eb-bb70-2be9e32b1665.html |access-date=February 10, 2021 |website=Tulsa World |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * {{FJC Bio|250|nid=1378216|name=Thomas Rutherford Brett<!--(1931–2021)-->}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 92 Stat. 1629}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma}}|years=1979–1996}} {{s-aft|after=Claire Eagan}} {{s-bef|before=James O. Ellison}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma}}|years=1994–1996}} {{s-aft|after=Terence C. Kern}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brett, Thomas Rutherford}} Category:1931 births Category:2021 deaths Category:21st-century American judges Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma Category:Lawyers from Oklahoma City Category:Oklahoma lawyers Category:Military personnel from Oklahoma Category:University of Oklahoma alumni Category:University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni Category:United States Army officers Category:United States Army reservists Category:United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter