CPHS grad Scott L. Palk named U.S. District Judge for Western Oklahoma

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Charles Page High School graduate Scott Lawrence Palk was recently confirmed by the United States Senate to the position of U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma in a bipartisan 79-16 vote with five abstaining. 

Both Oklahoma senators, James Lankford and Jim Inhofe, voted Yea. Of the 16 Nay votes, fifteen were Democratic Party members and one was independent. 26 Democrats, one Independent, and 52 Republicans voted in affirmation. 

“Scott is a great candidate to serve as a federal judge for the US District Court for Oklahoma because of his dedication to uphold the rule of law,” said Lankford. “Scott’s years of work in Oklahoma make him exceptionally qualified to serve as one of Oklahoma's federal judges, and I applaud President Trump for nominating a strong candidate that will represent our state and nation well.”  

Palk was nominated in May by President Donald Trump on advisement from Senator Lankford. He was previously employed as Assistant Dean of Students and Assistant General Counsel at the University of Oklahoma College of Law in Norman since 2011. He acquired his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University in 1989 and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1992. 

Palk worked in maintenance and landscaping for the Sand Springs Public School District during the summers of 1989 through 1991 before becoming a law student clerk at Terrel B. DoRemus & Associates in Tulsa. He began an internship at the District Attorney's Office for Cleveland, Garvin, and McClain Counties in 1991, spent four years as the Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force Coordinator, ten years as an Assistant District Attorney, and five years as the First Assistant District Attorney.

In 2002 he moved to the the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma where he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division before moving to the University of Oklahoma in 2011. 

In 1993 Palk was named the Oklahoma Narcotics Enforcers' Prosecutor of the Year. He was the Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association Prosecutor of the Year in 2004. He received the Director's Award for Superior Performance from the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys in 2004. He has also received certificates of appreciation for Assistance to the Joint Terrorism Task Force and Outstanding Contributions in the field of Drug Law Enforcement.

Palk is a current member of the National Rifle Association and the University of Oklahoma College of Law Second Century Annual Giving Society. He was previously nominated for his new position by President Barrack Obama, but his nomination expired with the end of the 114th Congress.