Richard Lee Morris (born November 6, 1968) is an American attorney and Republican politician.

Early life, education, and military career

Morris was born in

Fort Polk, Louisiana Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. Named after New Yo ...

, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He was raised in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Morris served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1988 through 2010. The first part of his career was spent in submarines. After receiving a

B.A. 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 degree ...

degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from

Saint Leo University Saint Leo University is a private Catholic university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. The universi ...

in 1998, he transferred to become a Legalman. He was later commissioned as a

Limited Duty Officer A limited duty officer (LDO) is an officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who was selected for commissioning based on skill and expertise. They are the primary manpower source for technically specific billets not best ...

, after which he received a J.D. from

Regent University Regent University is a Private university, private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. It was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network, Christian Broadcasting Network University and chang ...

. He served in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

working on reform of the Iraqi judicial system. In 2022, Morris was disbarred from practicing law after it was discovered that he had defrauded distressed veterans. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals found that Morris exploited vulnerable clients by charging exorbitant fees while providing little to no legal assistance, leading to his removal from the legal profession.

Political career

After retiring from the Navy in 2010, Morris was elected chair of the Isle of Wight County Republican Committee. In November 2011, he defeated 10-term Democratic incumbent William K. Barlow for the 64th House district seat by a vote of 12,960 to 10,467. Morris won re-election to a 2nd term on November 5, 2013, running unopposed. Morris did not seek re-election in 2017.

Notes

External links

* * * 1968 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Isle of Wight County, Virginia 21st-century members of the Virginia General Assembly {{Virginia-delegate-stub