A Message from the President 2022-2023 GAVEL STORIES

This month’s issue of the Tulsa Lawyer is dedicated to the Courts and Judiciary. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Courts and the Judiciary? Well, if you watch any television dramas (or the reboot of Night Court) or you’re delinquent with your article submission for this publication, it’s probably a gavel.

The Wikipedia entry for gavel tells us, “The gavel is used in courts of law in the United States and, by metonymy, is used there to represent the entire judiciary system, especially of judgeship.” Metonymy? I had to look that one up. Dictionary.com defines the word as “a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or which it is a part.” The examples provided are a “scepter” for “sovereignty” or “the bottle” for “strong drink.” You get the idea.

My cursory research on gavels indicates that no one is certain how gavels came to be used in court. A couple of sources point to the Freemasons among the Founders. As the story goes, a number of Founders were members of the organization and liked the associated ritual. The gavel was essentially a mallet used in masonry work. As a Founder and presumably a Mason, Vice President John Adams used a gavel to call to order the first United States Senate. From there, they ultimately made their way to the courts. I don’t know whether is attributable to the Founders, but apparently British courts do not use gavels. They, of course, have those jaunty head wigs.

Since taking office last September, I have had the honor and privilege of presenting eight ceremonial gavels on behalf of the Association to judges sitting in the state courts in Tulsa County: two Judges of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, two Tulsa County District Judge, and four Tulsa County Special Judges. The appellate judge presentations were made at the February meeting of the Association’s YLD Leadership Academy. The other presentation were made at two different swearing-in ceremonies. One-half of the presentations were carryovers from the pandemic.

During the first swearing-in event I attended, one of the special judges shared her intriguing journey to the bench and reminisced about the role of her dozen-plus siblings in her travels. During the second event (and confirming my suspicion that Tulsa is a small town disguised in metropolitan trappings), I presented gavels to a judge with whom I attended church for few years, I believe, before he began law school and to a judge who, I learned at the event, was a long-time customer of my Father’s barbershop in Edmond. The third event included a presentation to my lovely bride. Following the presentation, each of the judges (four of the five Tulsa judges) shared their unique paths to the appellate bench with the inaugural Leadership Academy class.

Although I am a notorious introvert, the gavel presentations have been my favorite part of this position. Each judge’s story is fascinating. They always seem grateful to receive their gavel. I, in turn, am grateful to them for their service to our community, legal and otherwise, and to the State of Oklahoma.

Philip D. Hixon

TCBA President, 2022-2023