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Walter Urbigkit

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Walter Urbigkit
Chief Justice of Wyoming
In office
1992–1993
Appointed byEdgar J. Herschler
Succeeded byRichard J. Macy
Personal details
Born(1927-11-09)November 9, 1927
Fremont County, Wyoming, U.S.
DiedOctober 31, 2011(2011-10-31) (aged 83)[1]
Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.
RelativesRalph Urbigkit (brother)
Dale Urbigkit (nephew)
EducationUniversity of Wyoming (BA)
University of Wyoming College of Law (JD)

Walter C. Urbigkit Jr. (November 9, 1927 – October 31, 2011) was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives for Laramie, Wyoming, as a Democrat from 1973 to 1985, including two years as minority leader, and later a justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court from November 1, 1985, to January 1993, serving as chief justice from 1991 to 1993.[2] Urbigkit lost his bid for a second term in a retention election in November 1992.[3] In 1987, Urbigkit was credited by the New York Times for advancing the use of the word "conclusory" in jurisprudence.[4]

Born in Burris, Wyoming to Walter C. and Bertha (Miller) Urbigkit, he graduated from Fremont County Vocational High School in 1945,[5] and then received a B.A. from the University of Wyoming in 1949; he won the university's Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award in 1992.[6] He received a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1951, and served in the United States Army during the Korean War.[5] He then served as an attorney in the United States Veterans Administration from 1953 to 1955, when he left government to open a private law practice in Cheyenne.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Walter Urbigkit 1927-2011". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. 2 November 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  2. ^ Alumni Hall of Fame information
  3. ^ Duke Law & Contemporary Problems
  4. ^ New York Times.
  5. ^ a b c Wyoming State Archives page on Walter C. Urbigkit, Jr.
  6. ^ University of Wyoming Alumni Association.
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court
1985–1993
Succeeded by