Mary Lou Robinson (August 26, 1926 January 26, 2019) was a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...
of the
.
Education and career
Born on August 26, 1926, in
Dodge City, Kansas
Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...
, Robinson graduated from
Amarillo High School
Amarillo High School is a school located in the city of Amarillo, Texas, United States and is one of four high schools in the Amarillo Independent School District and classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). In 20 ...
in
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...
, in 1944.
Robinson received an associate degree from
Amarillo College
Amarillo College (AC) is a public community college in Amarillo, Texas. It enrolls over 9,100 students and was established in 1929 as Amarillo Junior College. Amarillo College has a total of six campuses as of August 2023.
As defined by the Tex ...
in 1946.
She received a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in economics
from the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
in 1948 and a
Bachelor of Laws
A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from the
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...
in 1950.
She met her husband A. J. Robinson at the university and the couple married in 1949.
She was in private practice with her husband in Amarillo as Robinson & Robinson from 1950 to 1955.
[ She was a judge of the County Court for ]Potter County, Texas
Potter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 118,525. Its county seat is Amarillo. The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1887. It is named for Robert Potter, a politician ...
, from 1955 to 1958. She was a judge of the 108th District Court of Texas in Amarillo from 1961 to 1973.[
Robinson was a justice of the Court of Civil Appeals for the Seventh Supreme Judicial District of Texas from 1973 to 1979.][
]
Federal judicial service
Robinson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
on February 23, 1979, to the , to a new seat created by the 95th Congress
The 95th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 197 ...
in 1978 (, ). She was confirmed by the United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
on April 24, 1979, and received her commission on April 26, 1979. She assumed senior status on February 11, 2016.[Longtime judge Mary Lou Robinson dies at 92](_blank)
''Amarillo Globe-News'' (January 27, 2019).
In 2018, the federal building and courthouse in Amarillo was named the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse in Robinson's honor.
Personal life
Robinson had one son and two daughters; seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.[ Robinson was a church elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church, where she and her husband also taught ]Sunday school
]
A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes.
Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
.[ Robinson died on January 26, 2019, at the age of 92.][
]
See also
* List of United States federal judges by longevity of service
These are lists of Article III United States federal judges by longevity of service. Senate confirmation along with presidential appointment to an Article III court entails a lifelong appointment, unless the judge is impeached, resigns, retires, ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Mary Lou
1926 births
2019 deaths
Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
People from Amarillo, Texas
People from Dodge City, Kansas
Texas lawyers
Texas state court judges
United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter
University of Texas School of Law alumni
20th-century American women judges