Joseph M. Watt | |
|---|---|
| Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court | |
| In office May 18, 1992 – December 31, 2017 | |
| Appointed by | David Walters |
| Succeeded by | Richard Darby |
| Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court | |
| In office January 8, 2003 – January 11, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Rudolph Hargrave |
| Succeeded by | James R. Winchester |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1947 Austin, Texas |
| Alma mater | Texas Tech University, University of Texas School of Law |
Joseph Michael Watt[1] (born March 8, 1947) is a former Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, who assumed the post in 1992. He was reelected in 1994, 1996, and 2002. From 2003 to 2007, he served two terms as Chief Justice. In 2005, he was reelected to an unprecedented second term as Chief Justice, despite a federal age discrimination lawsuit filed by the Court's then-Vice Chief Justice Marian P. Opala, then 83 years old, who claimed Supreme Court rules were changed to prevent Opala from becoming chief justice. Justice Watt sent a letter to Governor Mary Fallin on October 2, 2017, stating that he would retire from the Oklahoma Supreme Court effective December 31, 2017.