OUtstanding Alumni: Judge Robert E. Bacharach

Judge Robert E. Bacharach, OU Class of 1981

President Obama recently nominated OU alumnus Judge Robert E. Bacharach to the United States Court of Appeals.  

“I am proud to nominate Judge Robert E. Bacharach to serve on the United States Court of Appeals,” said President Obama.  “I am confident Judge Bacharach will serve the American people with integrity and distinction.”

Judge Bacharach has served as a United States Magistrate Judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma since 1999.  He is also a member of the Federal Bar Association, where he has served as a Tenth Circuit Vice President since 2007.

Judge Bacharach was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He received his B.A. in 1981 from the University of Oklahoma, graduating with high honors. He received his J.D. in 1985 from the Washington University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif and served as an editor of the Washington University Law Quarterly.

Following graduation from law school, Judge Bacharach served for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable William J. Holloway, Jr., of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.  In 1987, Judge Bacharach joined the Oklahoma City law firm of Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C. as an associate, later becoming a shareholder in 1994. During his twelve years with the firm, Judge Bacharach focused his practice on commercial litigation, appearing frequently in state and federal courts.

Since becoming a United States Magistrate Judge in 1999, Judge Bacharach has handled nearly 3,000 civil and criminal matters.  He has presided over more than 400 judicial settlement conferences and has issued more than 1,600 reports and recommendations in cases involving habeas petitions, prisoner civil rights suits, social security appeals, and other civil matters. Judge Bacharach has also conducted a variety of pretrial proceedings, including hundreds of detention hearings, issued felony warrants, and presided over hundreds of misdemeanor proceedings. In addition to his judicial duties, Judge Bacharach has chaired several committees for the Western District of Oklahoma, including the Local Civil Rules Committee and the Criminal Justice Act Committee.

So many accomplishments!  Way to go, Judge Bacharach!  BOOMER SOONER!