Robert Harlan Henry (born April 3, 1953) is a former United States Circuit Judge and politician from Oklahoma, and was the 17th President of Oklahoma City University. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Henry formerly served as the Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1986 to 1991, before resigning early in his second term to become the dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he remained until 1994. President Bill Clinton appointed Henry as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, a position he held until he resigned in 2010 to return to Oklahoma City University as president. He retired as President of Oklahoma City University in 2018, and has since worked as an attorney specializing in mediation, moot courts, and appellate advocacy.
Robert Harlan Henry
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Born 1953 in Shawnee, OK
FJC ID: 1028
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 31/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 411/year
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1994–2010
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
President/chief executive officer · 2010–present- Judicial Conference of the United StatesMember · 2008–2010
- Dean/professor of law · 1993–1994
- State of OklahomaAttorney general · 1987–1992
- Private practice, Shawnee, Oklahoma1977–1987
- OklahomaState representative · 1976–1986
Appointments
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth CircuitChief Judge1994–2010 · Appointed by William J. Clinton (Democratic)Term ended: Resignation
Education
J.D. · 1976- University of OklahomaB.A. · 1974