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Joe Greenhill (1914-), Associate Justice and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, was born July 14, 1914 in Houston, Texas to Joe R. Greenhill, Jr. and Violet Stanvell Greenhill. He was educated in the Houston public schools and got his B.A., B.B.A., and LL.B. degrees from the University of Texas, each with the highest honors. Judge Greenhill also received an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Southern Methodist University. After his graduation from the University of Texas, Judge Greenhill practiced law in Houston before entering the Naval Reserve. During World War II he rose from Ensign to Lieutenant, first in intelligence, and then as executive officer on fleet mine sweeper the U.S.S. Control in the Forward Area of the Pacific: Eniwetok, Kwajaline, Palau, Guam, Sokan, Tinian, and Manas. In 1948, he became the first Assistant Attorney General. Following his stint he returned to private practice in Austin from 1950-1957. He was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 1957, serving for 25 years and spending his last 10 years as the Chief Justice. One of his more significant accomplishments while serving as Chief Justice was to help bring about a Texas Constitutional Amendment to give the Court of Civil Appeal criminal jurisdiction. Upon his retirement from the Texas Supreme Court, Judge Greenhill was President-Elect and member of the Board of Directors for the National Center for State Courts; President-Elect for the Conference of Chief Justices; and Vice-Chairman of the Texas Criminal Justice Division Advisory Board. He was Executive Director of the Texas Bar Foundation; former Chairman of the Judicial Section of Texas State Bar and the Bar's Section on Natural Resources; Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation; and Life Member of the American Bar Foundation. Judge Greenhill also won several awards throughout his distinguished career. He won the Gold Medal Award, Freedom's Foundation at Valley Forge, 1971; was a Distinguished Alumnus, School of Business Administration in 1974, University of Texas; Distinguished Alumnus, School of Law in 1977, University of Texas; named Outstanding Texas Lawyer by Texas Bar Foundation, 1989; the Herbert Hartley Award for promoting Administration of Justice from the American Judicature Society, 1992; and the Distinguished Lawyer Award from the Travis County Bar, 1995. He was Co-Incorporator in 1989 for The Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism. Currently Judge Greenhill is the President of Texas Supreme Court Historical Society and is Counsel for the law practice of Baker and Botts in Austin. BIBLIOGRAPHY: link: Texas State Cemetery.
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