December 3rd – Thomas Morrow Reavley, a senior federal Justice Raffle with a high reputation in the American judiciary and Texas politics, died in Houston on the 1st at the age of 99. Until his death, Reffley continued to serve on the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, setting a record for the oldest serving federal Justice Raffle.
According to reports, Reffley was born in a small town in eastern Texas. After 80 years of public service, after serving as six presidents of the United States, his health has begun to decline in the last year and a half.
Ryan K., Federal Prosecutor for the Southern District of Texas Patrick) said that the news of Reffley’s death was announced by his 82-year-old wife Caroline King, who is also a Justice Raffle of the Fifth Circuit Court.
Both Revley and King were appointed and confirmed during the Carter administration in 1979 and served as Justice Raffle of the Federal Court of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit. They married in 2004 and live next to the federal court in Houston where they serve. There is a private entrance and exit between the house and the court.
Reffley was born in Killiman, Texas in 1921. At the age of 14, he spoke about the injustice of apartheid. Tall, he was described by colleagues as a “good giant” with keen legal thinking.
He has served as the Secretary of State of Texas, the County Prosecutor of Nacodoches, the Dallas Prosecutor, the District Justice Raffle of Austin, and the State Supreme Court. After being appointed to the federal Justice Raffle in 1979, he has written at least 4,200 federal legal opinions in 40 years. Since 1995, a total of 5,993 cases have been handled and 2,731 meetings have been participated.
