Judicial Service Reception for Judge Kern
Our chapter hosted a reception on January 11, 2024, honoring Judge Terence C. Kern and his thirty years of judicial service. Attendees began the evening with refreshments and conversation in the Boulder Building’s recently renovated jury assembly room, then adjourned to the architectural elegance of Judge Kern’s courtroom for a retrospective on his career moderated by Mary Quinn Cooper.
In 1994, Judge Kern was nominated to a district judgeship by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate by a vote of 93-0.
Since taking the bench, he has served as Chief Judge of the Northern District of Oklahoma from 1996-2003; a member of the Judicial Conference Committee on Security and Facilities; a member of the Committee on Space and Facilities; and chair of the Tenth Circuit Space and Facilities Committee.
Additional recognitions include Hall of Fame Inductee, Beta Theta Pi, Gamma Lambda Chapter, 2000; Leadership Legacy Award, Oklahoma State University, 2001; Distinguished Alumni Award, Oklahoma State University, 2001; Judge of the Year, Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association, 2007; Lion of the Bar Award, American Inns of Court, Council Oak-Johnson/Sontag Chapter, 2013; Judge of the Year Award, Oklahoma Association for Justice, 2014; Oklahoma State University, Hall of Fame, 2017; and American Board of Trial Advocates, Judge of the Year, 2020.
Memberships and leadership positions include President, Oklahoma Bar Foundation, 1991; President, American Inns of Court, Johnson/Sontag Chapter, 2008; Member and Fellow of Tulsa County Bar; and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Board of Directors.