Robert Lee Williams (December 20, 1868 – April 10, 1948) was an American lawyer, judge, and the third governor of Oklahoma. Williams played a role in the drafting of the Oklahoma Constitution and served as the first Oklahoma Supreme Court chief justice. He also served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. As third Governor, Williams oversaw the state's response to the recent United States Supreme Court's ruling against Jim Crow laws and its involvement in the First World War (1914/1917-1918). He instituted the Oklahoma State Board of Affairs (later reorganized into the current Oklahoma Department of Central Services) which provided central purchasing services to various state departments, agencies, boards and bureaus. Due to his direct administrative role and concentration of power, Governor Williams counteracted the previous loss of executive power and disagreements with the Oklahoma Legislature under previous second Governor Lee Cruce (1863-1933, served 1911-1915).
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 2/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 6/year
Oklahoma Eastern District Court · 1919–1937Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1937–1948
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
- OklahomaGovernor · 1915–1919
- Supreme Court of OklahomaChief justice · 1907–1914
- Durant, Indian TerritoryCity attorney · 1899
- Private practice, Durant and Atoka, Indian Territory1896–1898
- Private practice, Troy, Alabama1891–1893
Appointments
1937–1948 · Appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic)Term ended: Death
1919–1937 · Appointed by Woodrow Wilson (Democratic)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
- Southern UniversityM.A. · 1894
- Southern UniversityB.A. · 1892
- Read law1891