Mid-Western Regional Director Recognized as New Chief Judge
Will serve Oklahoma's Western District
Vicki Miles-LaGrange, the Sorority's Mid-Western Regional Director, was formally recognized as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma during an investiture ceremony held in the ceremonial courtroom of the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Oklahoma City.
Chief Judge Miles-LaGrange's ascension represents another of a long line of professional accomplishments. She was the first African-American to be appointed to the federal bench in Oklahoma. Her appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1994 also made her the first African-American federal judge in the six-state region of the federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. President Clinton had previously appointed her to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, making her the first woman to assume that position and one of the first female U.S. attorneys in the nation. She was also the first African-American woman elected to the Oklahoma State Senate where she served from 1986-1993. During her term, she distinguished herself as an advocate for children, families, education, law and justice.
She was the first African-American to be appointed to the federal bench in Oklahoma.
Miles-LaGrange is a cum laude graduate of Vassar College. She received her law degree from Howard University, where she was an editor of The Howard Law Journal. She also has an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Oklahoma City University.
She has received numerous honors for her advocacy and for being a legal trailblazer and a role model for all women.