Keith Rapp
![]() | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (February 2016) |
Keith Rapp | |
---|---|
Justice of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals | |
Assumed office 1984 | |
Appointed by | George Nigh |
Personal details | |
Born | Wheelersburg, Ohio | May 2, 1934
Nationality | American |
Spouse(s) | Mary Lynn Clanton |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | University of Tulsa, (J.D.) University of Virginia, (L.L.M.) |
Occupation | Aerospace engineer; attorney; judge |
Profession | Law |
Keith Rapp (also known as W. Keith Rapp) is a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma. He represents District 2, Office 2. A native of Ohio, he earned his J.D. degree from the University of Tulsa Law School
Biography[]
Judge Rapp was born on May 2, 1934 in Wheelersburg, Ohio. He received his undergraduate degree from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) and took graduate classes in mathematics and statistics from the University of Missouri, University of Minnesota and University of Arizona. Rapp then worked as an aerospace engineer on many major NASA projects before receiving his J.D. degree from the University of Tulsa. Rapp later earned a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia.[1]
Military service and aerospace career[]
From 1953 to 1955, he served in the US Navy, completing two tours of duty in the Far East as an aerial navigator and electronics warfare operator with the VC-35. Later, he retired from the U.S. Naval Reserves as a Judge Advocate General Corps commander.[1]
Returning to civilian life, Rapp went to work as an aerospace engineer, specializing in inertial guidance and navigation systems. Some of his projects included Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and SkyLab for the U.S. space program and Bomarc, the first operational surface-to-air missile for the Department of Defense. While working as an engineer, he enrolled in the University of Tulsa School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.[1] Later, he earned the LLM degree from the University of Virginia.[a]
Legal career[]
After completing law school at the University of Tulsa, Judge Rapp served as a public defender and in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He later served as a municipal judge in Bixby, Oklahoma and then an alternative municipal judge in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After this, he was judge on the 14th District Court in Tulsa. He stood for election against incumbent Judge for the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals in 1984. It was the first time a challenger had unseated an incumbent since the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals was created in 1969.[3][b]
Voters chose to retain Rapp on the Appeals Court most recently in the 2014 election. His retention rating was 59.3 percent.[4]
Personal[]
He married the former Mary Lynn Clanton. They have three children, Elizabeth, Kathy and Joseph.[1]
Notes[]
External links[]
References[]
- ^ a b c d "Keith Rapp." Oklahoma Civil Justice Council. 2018. Accessed May 7, 2018.
- ^ "1990s Class Notes." UVA Lawyer. Spring 1996. Accessed May 7, 2018.
- ^ a b "Court of Appeals Judge Unseated." NewsOK. November 8, 1984. Accessed May 7, 2018.
- ^ "Official Results, 2014 General Election". Oklahoma Elections. January 5, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- 1934 births
- People from Wheelersburg, Ohio
- Living people
- Public defenders
- Missouri State University alumni
- University of Tulsa alumni
- University of Virginia School of Law alumni
- University of Missouri alumni
- Aerospace engineers