The Texas Supreme Court Historical Society has announced that the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla R. Owen, will give the keynote address at the Society’s 25th annual Hemphill Dinner, to be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11. For the first time ever, the Hemphill Dinner will be held virtually in light of concerns surrounding COVID-19.

A native of Palacios, Texas, Chief Judge Owen received both her undergraduate and juris doctor degrees from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and was the high scorer on the Texas Bar Exam the year she was licensed. Prior to her confirmation to the federal bench in 2005, Chief Judge Owen served with distinction for a decade on the Texas Supreme Court. First elected in 1994, she was just the second female Justice to be elected to the Court in its history. On the Fifth Circuit, she succeeded former Texas Supreme Court Justice, Judge William Garwood, in the seat he had held since 1981. Alongside the late Judge Garwood, Tom Reavley, Sam Johnson, and current Fifth Circuit Judge Don Willett, Chief Judge Owen is one of five former Texas Supreme Court Justices to serve on the Fifth Circuit. In addition, Chief Judge Owen is the first and only former Texas Supreme Court Justice to serve as Chief Judge of not only the Fifth Circuit, but any U.S. circuit court of appeals. Elevated to Chief Judge in October 2019, Owen will serve in the post until 2024. She is the first Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit to be based in Austin, Texas.

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