From Left, Dr. Larry Rice, President of Rogers State University, Mr. Louis Bullock, Mr. Phil B. Albert, University of Oklahoma Regent
Civil Rights Attorney Louis W. Bullock received the Rogers State University Constitution Award during a December 15 ceremony on the Claremore campus. The Honorable Stephanie K. Seymour presented Bullock with this high honor. Seymour, Senior Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, was the 2010 recipient of the RSU Constitution Award.
Each fall since 1987, RSU has presented the Constitution Award to an Oklahoman who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution through his or her life’s work. The RSU Constitution Award was established in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
“We are proud and honored to present Mr. Bullock with this distinguished award,” RSU President Dr. Larry Rice said. “He has diligently guarded the principles of the U.S. Constitution and upheld its values.”
A graduate of Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma College of Law, Bullock has represented clients in some of the most monumental cases in Oklahoma. His work in civil rights over the past 45 years has resulted in legal victories for his clients and long-lasting changes in the operations of Oklahoma’s prisons, Tulsa’s jail, the Tulsa Police Department, and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. He has twice received the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Courageous Advocacy Award.
“From children with special needs to prison inmates, Louis Bullock’s civil rights proficiency over more than forty years has significantly advanced the life of our state and has protected our individual constitutional rights in innumerable ways,” Seymour said.
His landmark litigation Battle v. Anderson successfully challenged the operations of Oklahoma’s prison system. The court’s order mandated fundamental changes to Oklahoma’s prison system and has been cited more than 200 times by courts across the country. He served as lead counsel in the class action litigation brought against the Hissom Memorial Center successfully challenging the disturbing neglect of children and young adults in the Department of Human Services’ institutions for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The court’s order placed all residents in community homes with appropriate staffing and services resulting in the institution’s closure.
In accepting the award, Bullock honored past recipients and his wife and legal partner Patricia Bullock.
“I think about those who have received this award before me. Many of them my heroes. The men and women who forged a better day for all of us in politics and in law. I must honor and appreciate my wife. My accomplishments are very much her accomplishments. She is a wonderful wife and terrific lawyer,” Bullock said.
He spoke of past recipient Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher. Fisher was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement in Oklahoma. She applied for admission into the University of Oklahoma law school to challenge the state’s segregation laws and to become a lawyer.
“It has been my aspiration to advocate for those who by circumstance have found themselves on the wrong side of the hopes and dreams of our constitution,” Bullock said.
He went on to focus on the importance of the role of trial lawyers in securing a more just and perfect union as envisioned by the founding fathers.
“The preamble of the constitution speaks about creating a more perfect union, but the second part is that without lawyers there is no justice. It is the role of attorneys to present a case before a judge, marshal the facts and press the case. I am honored to be the first trial lawyer to receive this recognition,” Bullock said.
Bullock is a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars including presentations at the Judicial Conference for the Tenth Circuit in the areas of civil rights and complex federal litigation.
Past recipients of the RSU Constitution Award include former Ambassador James Jones, U.S. District Judge David Russell, U.S. District Judge Claire Eagan, U.S. District Judge Joseph W. Morris, Senior Judge Stephanie K. Seymour, Chief Judge Robert Henry, Gov. Frank Keating, Judge Lee R. West, U.S. Rep. Lyle Boren, Judge Fred Daugherty, Chief Ross Swimmer, U.S. Speaker Carl Albert, Judge William J. Holloway, Jr., Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Gov. Henry Bellmon, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, Mayor Patience Latting, Justice Marian P. Opala, Sen. David Boren, Hannah Diggs Atkins, Joint Chiefs Chairman William J. Crowe, Jr., Judge James O. Ellison, Alex Adwan, Judge Thomas R. Brett, G.T. Blankenship, Sen. Charles Ford, Sen. Penny Williams, Dennis Reimer, Mickey Edwards, Sen. Anthony Massad and Gov. George Nigh.