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Mary Lou Robinson
Mary Lou Robinson
Mary Lou Robinson
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Mary Lou Robinson (August 26, 1926 – January 26, 2019) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Key Information

Education and career

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Born on August 26, 1926, in Dodge City, Kansas,[1] Robinson graduated from Amarillo High School in Amarillo, Texas, in 1944.[2]

Robinson received an associate degree from Amarillo College in 1946.[2] She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics[2] from the University of Texas at Austin in 1948 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Texas School of Law in 1950.[3] She met her husband A. J. Robinson at the university and the couple married in 1949.[4] She was in private practice with her husband in Amarillo as Robinson & Robinson from 1950 to 1955.[3][4] She was a judge of the County Court for Potter County, Texas, from 1955 to 1958. She was a judge of the 108th District Court of Texas in Amarillo from 1961 to 1973.[3] During this time she spoke frequently about women's rights and helped to change a law that prohibited married women from entering into binding contracts.[4]

Robinson was a justice of the Court of Civil Appeals for the Seventh Supreme Judicial District of Texas from 1973 to 1979.[3] She was later an associate of the same court and was chief justice from 1977 to 1979.[3][4]

Federal judicial service

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Robinson was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on February 23, 1979, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, to a new seat created by the 95th Congress in 1978 (Pub. L. 95–486, 92 Stat. 1629). She was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 24, 1979, and received her commission on April 26, 1979. She assumed senior status on February 11, 2016.[3] She assumed inactive senior status effective May 1, 2018.[2]

Robinson presided over several notable cases, including the Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey trial in 1998.[5]

In 2018, the federal building and courthouse in Amarillo was named the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse in Robinson's honor.[5]

Personal life

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Robinson had one son and two daughters; seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.[4] Robinson was a church elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church, where she and her husband also taught Sunday school.[4] Robinson died on January 26, 2019, at the age of 92.[6] Her husband, A. J. Robinson, predeceased her. She was buried at the Llano Cemetery.[4]

See also

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References

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Sources

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Mary Lou Robinson

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Mary Lou Robinson (August 25, 1926 – January 26, 2019) was an American jurist who served as a United States district judge for the Northern District of Texas from 1979 until assuming senior status in 2016. Born in Dodge City, Kansas, she moved to Amarillo, Texas, as a child and graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1950 as one of only six women in her class. Robinson broke barriers in the male-dominated legal field, becoming the first woman appointed as a above the level of in Amarillo in 1955, when she joined the newly created Potter County Court at . She advanced to state district in 1960 and, in 1973, became the first woman to serve on a as a of the Seventh Court of Civil Appeals, later ascending to in 1977. Appointed to the federal bench by President in 1979, she was one of only 23 women named to such positions that year and the second woman in to serve as a U.S. district . Throughout her over six-decade judicial career, Robinson advocated for women's legal rights, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, pushing for reforms allowing married women to enter contracts independently, a right previously denied under Texas law. She presided over high-profile cases, including the 1996 trial of Texas Beef Group v. Oprah Winfrey, where a jury unanimously ruled in favor of the media personality against cattle industry claims of defamation. In recognition of her trailblazing service, the federal courthouse in Amarillo was renamed the J. Marvin Jones Federal Building and Mary Lou Robinson United States Courthouse in 2018, marking it as only the fourth such facility in the nation honoring a woman. Colleagues described her as independent, courageous, and dedicated to impartial justice despite early career obstacles rooted in gender discrimination.

Early Life and Education

Childhood and Upbringing

Mary Lou Robinson was born on August 25, 1926, in , to Gerald and Frances Strueber. Her family relocated to , when she was six years old and just starting grade school, settling in the rural region. The move coincided with the height of the era and the ongoing , exposing Robinson to severe economic hardship, widespread dust storms, and agricultural collapse that devastated farming communities across the Plains states. These conditions, including crop failures and family financial strain typical of the region, fostered an environment of practical amid limited resources and uncertain livelihoods in small-town America. Robinson's early interest in stemmed from an elementary incident in Amarillo, where a classmate—a Jehovah's Witness—was expelled for refusing to salute the American flag, prompting her to question authority and rules in a male-dominated society with few female precedents in legal fields. This formative experience, observed in the constrained rural setting of Panhandle, highlighted tensions between individual conscience and institutional demands without broader romanticized narratives of gender pioneering. Robinson earned an with honors from Amarillo College in 1946. She subsequently pursued higher education at the University of Texas, where she received a degree in economics in 1948. Robinson then enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law, completing her LL.B. degree in 1950—a period when institutional policies at many law schools restricted female admissions, resulting in women forming a negligible fraction of enrollees nationwide. She was one of roughly six women among her classmates, underscoring the exceptional nature of her achievement in an era of limited access for women to legal training. Following graduation, Robinson gained admission to the State Bar of Texas in 1950, marking her formal entry into the legal profession.

Private Practice and Local Bar Involvement

Following her graduation from the University of Texas School of Law with an LL.B. in 1950, Mary Lou Robinson joined her husband, A.J. Robinson, in establishing a private law firm, Robinson & Robinson, in Amarillo, Texas. The firm operated from 1950 to 1955, primarily handling civil cases amid the resource-based economy and traditional social structures of the Texas Panhandle, a region characterized by agricultural, oil, and ranching interests. Robinson's practice occurred in an era when women comprised a tiny fraction of the in rural ; she was one of only two lawyers in Amarillo during this period, navigating a field dominated by male practitioners and conservative local norms. Her work emphasized practical litigation and client representation in county-level disputes, building a reputation for competence that facilitated integration into the area's tight-knit legal networks without reliance on external political structures. Through these years, Robinson actively participated in the Amarillo legal community, fostering professional relationships that underscored merit-based advancement in Potter County's judicial ecosystem and presaged her subsequent local appointments. This groundwork, rooted in hands-on casework rather than institutional favoritism, demonstrated the causal link between sustained private practice performance and opportunities for expanded roles in a merit-driven local bar environment.

State-Level Judicial Roles

In 1955, Mary Lou Robinson was appointed by the Potter County Commissioners' Court as judge of the newly created , the first such specialized court in the county designed to alleviate caseload burdens on existing and . She served in this role from 1955 to 1959, presiding over civil disputes involving amounts in controversy typically between $200 and $1,000, proceedings, and select cases, which facilitated more targeted adjudication of routine local matters amid Potter County's growing population and economic activity in the . This appointment marked the of her 24-year tenure in state courts, contributing to administrative efficiency by expanding judicial capacity in a region reliant on oil, , and ranching for its legal docket. Following her service, Robinson was elected in to the 108th District Court, encompassing Potter and Randall Counties, and assumed the bench in 1961, holding the position until 1973. The district court handled a broader spectrum of cases, including prosecutions, civil suits exceeding county court limits, and proceedings, and juvenile matters, processing hundreds of filings annually in line with district court norms during the mid-20th century expansion of urban legal demands. Her decisions emphasized procedural adherence and evidentiary rigor, as reflected in the court's role in maintaining low reversal rates on appeal, indicative of consistent application of state law to factual disputes without documented patterns of inefficiency or backlog accumulation. In 1973, Robinson was appointed associate justice of the Seventh Court of Civil Appeals in Amarillo, serving until 1979, where she reviewed district court rulings on civil, , and appeals, issuing opinions that upheld statutory interpretations grounded in precedents. This appellate role involved evaluating records for legal errors, with her tenure coinciding with increased caseloads from , yet the court's disposition rates remained steady, underscoring operational stability. Across her state service, spanning county, district, and appellate levels, Robinson's longevity—totaling over six decades in judicial roles when including federal tenure—exemplified the durability of 's elected and appointed judiciary system, where sustained incumbency correlated with reduced turnover and predictable case resolution timelines.

Federal Judicial Service

Appointment Process and Confirmation

President nominated Mary Lou Robinson on February 23, 1979, to a newly created seat on the for the Northern District of , authorized by 95-486 (92 Stat. 1629). The nomination emphasized her prior judicial experience, including over two decades on state courts, culminating as of the Seventh Court of Civil Appeals from 1973 to 1979, which demonstrated her qualifications for federal service in the Amarillo division. Carter's selection aligned with his administration's broader effort to diversify the federal judiciary by appointing qualified women, as evidenced by the confirmation of 23 female judgeships that year—more than doubling prior totals. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced her nomination without reported hearings or significant debate, reflecting the procedural norms of the late 1970s for nominees with established judicial records. followed on April 24, 1979, by , indicating bipartisan acquiescence amid minimal partisan friction, despite Robinson's tenure in Texas's conservative-leaning appellate courts. She received her judicial commission on April 26, 1979, enabling her to assume duties shortly thereafter. This swift process—spanning less than two months from nomination to commission—underscored the value placed on her state-level expertise over ideological alignment in Democratic administration.

Key Cases and Rulings

One of the most prominent cases presided over by Robinson was Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey, filed in 1996 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The plaintiffs, a group of Texas cattle feeders including Texas Beef Group and Perryton Feeders, Inc., alleged that Oprah Winfrey and her guest Howard Lyman had disparaged perishable food products during a 1996 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Winfrey stated she would no longer eat beef due to concerns over mad cow disease transmission risks, and Lyman warned of potential bovine spongiform encephalopathy spread through cattle feed practices. Invoking the Texas False Disparagement of Perishable Food Products Act, the plaintiffs claimed the statements caused a sharp drop in beef prices and economic losses exceeding $12 million. In a February 1998 ruling, Robinson dismissed the claims under the Texas statute, holding that it incorporated First Amendment standards akin to actual malice—requiring plaintiffs to prove defendants knew statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for truth—and that opinions on food safety risks, absent empirical proof of falsity, were protected speech. The case proceeded to trial under common-law business disparagement, where, after plaintiffs rested on March 2, 1998, Robinson granted directed verdict on certain elements, finding insufficient evidence of falsity or damages tied directly to the statements, emphasizing the need for verifiable causal links over speculative harm. The jury subsequently acquitted Winfrey and Lyman on remaining counts, underscoring Robinson's application of rigorous evidentiary thresholds in balancing commercial interests against expressive freedoms. In Gardner v. Tulia Independent School District, consolidated cases decided in December 2000, Robinson addressed a challenge to the district's policy mandating random, suspicionless drug testing for all students in grades 7 through 12, regardless of extracurricular involvement. Plaintiffs, including student Hollister Gardner, argued the policy violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches, asserting no justified universal testing absent individualized suspicion, as students retained legitimate privacy expectations in school settings. Robinson ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, enjoining the policy as unconstitutional, reasoning that the district failed to demonstrate empirically grounded special circumstances—such as pervasive drug use or reduced in non-extracurricular contexts—warranting blanket intrusions, and distinguishing it from narrower precedents like Vernonia School District v. Acton (1995) limited to athletes. This decision highlighted constitutional constraints on administrative policies, prioritizing individual rights over generalized deterrence absent proven necessity. Robinson's docket encompassed a broad range of criminal, civil, and administrative matters in the Amarillo division, with rulings consistently applying stringent standards for causation, falsity, and constitutional compliance, often upholding free expression and where evidence fell short of exceptional justifications.

Judicial Tenure and Administrative Contributions

Mary Lou Robinson served as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of from her commission on April 26, 1979, until her death on January 26, 2019, totaling 39 years of federal judicial service. Her tenure marked her as one of the longest-serving judges in the district's history, providing institutional stability during periods of judicial vacancies and turnover common in federal courts. Robinson assumed on February 11, 2016, enabling a reduced caseload while retaining the ability to hear cases on a voluntary basis. She continued handling a full docket into her later years, transitioning to inactive senior status effective May 1, 2018, yet remained engaged in judicial work until her passing. This extended active participation exemplified efficiency in senior judgeships, where experienced jurists often shoulder significant loads to alleviate burdens on active benches, particularly in districts facing staffing shortages. Within the Northern District of Texas, Robinson's administrative efforts focused on the Amarillo Division, a remote outpost covering the with limited judicial resources compared to urban divisions like or Fort Worth. At the time of her senior status transition, she held the record as the longest-serving active federal judge in both the district and the Fifth Circuit, leveraging her 36-plus years of experience to streamline operations and ensure timely case resolutions in an area prone to understaffing. Her oversight contributed to consistent court functionality, as evidenced by the district's reliance on her for complex docket management amid broader federal retirements. Robinson's influence extended to local legal practice through her mentorship of attorneys and clerks in Amarillo, fostering a culture of procedural rigor that supported efficient in a geographically isolated setting. Colleagues emphasized that her departure created an irreplaceable gap in administrative capacity, underscoring her role in sustaining the division's operational resilience over nearly four decades.

Civic and Professional Engagement

Advocacy for Women's Professional Advancement

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Robinson delivered speeches to women's groups across the , emphasizing the viability of the for women and urging them to pursue careers in law despite historical underrepresentation, such as her own experience as one of only six female students in the University of School of Law's class of 1950. These efforts addressed empirical barriers like limited female enrollment in and sparse professional networks, where she noted being one of just two female lawyers practicing in Amarillo upon returning to private practice after . Robinson's advocacy extended to legislative reforms enabling women's professional participation, including campaigns to repeal Texas laws prohibiting married women from entering binding contracts independently, which she helped overturn during this period, and promotion of the to eliminate sex-based legal disabilities in employment and contracts. Her approach prioritized removing discriminatory statutes over preferential treatments, aligning with a meritocratic framework evident in her reflection on judicial responsibilities: "If I really fouled up, it wasn’t Mary Lou that fouled up, it was women who couldn’t do the job," underscoring the need for women to demonstrate competence through rigorous performance rather than lowered expectations or quotas. As a trailblazer—first woman appointed to Potter County Court at Law in 1955 and first female appellate in in 1973—Robinson served as an informal mentor and , inspiring subsequent generations of female jurists by exemplifying sustained excellence amid skepticism toward women in high-stakes legal roles. This contrasted with later equity-focused initiatives, as her endeavors reinforced Texas's tradition of color-blind merit selection in appointments and bar admissions, where advancement hinged on individual qualifications rather than demographic balancing.

Broader Community and Bar Leadership

Upon returning to Amarillo after , Robinson established herself as a leader in the local legal community, practicing at the firm Robinson & Robinson and becoming one of only two female attorneys in the area at the time. She maintained active membership in the Amarillo Bar Association and the , and was named a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. In recognition of her longstanding contributions to the profession, the Litigation Section of the inducted Robinson as a Texas Legal Legend on , 2015. Beyond bar activities, Robinson engaged in broader civic roles in Amarillo, serving on the boards of numerous local organizations and contributing to stability in the rural Panhandle region. At Westminster Presbyterian Church, she taught adult classes for decades and held the position of church elder, reflecting a commitment to traditional institutions. Her approach to legal practice and judging emphasized meticulous adherence to statutory law and strict courtroom decorum, aligning with principles of prevalent in the conservative .

Legacy and Recognition

Posthumous Honors

Following her death on January 26, 2019, the adopted House Resolution 348 in March 2019, honoring Robinson's trailblazing judicial career spanning over six decades, her advocacy for women's professional opportunities in law, and her civic leadership in Amarillo. The resolution specifically commended her service as the first woman elected to the Potter at Law, her appointments to higher courts, and her federal tenure on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of , emphasizing her commitment to equal justice without reference to partisan affiliations. In March 2021, the U.S. (GSA) featured Robinson in its recognition, highlighting her as a legal pioneer who advanced opportunities for women in the while managing federal facilities like the Amarillo bearing her name. This tribute, issued by the agency responsible for federal building operations, focused on verifiable aspects of her record, including her 1979 appointment by President and her assumption of in 2016 after handling thousands of cases. Robinson's pioneering appointments as the first judge in Potter County (1955) and one of the earliest women on a district court (1960), followed by her service on the Seventh Court of Appeals, demonstrated the viability of women in judicial roles within a traditionally male-dominated legal system, causally contributing to expanded opportunities for jurists by providing empirical examples of competent service amid historical barriers. Her federal tenure from 1979 to 2016 further reinforced this, as her 37 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of —primarily in the Amarillo division—coincided with gradual increases in women holding state and federal judgeships in , from near-zero in the mid-20th century to comprising about 25% of district judges by the 2010s. A landmark contribution to legal precedent arose in Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey, where Robinson granted partial in 1998, ruling that 's Perishable Food Products Protection Act could not impose liability for opinions lacking verifiable falsity under ordinary care standards, thereby prioritizing First Amendment protections for media commentary over state efforts to safeguard perishable goods from disparagement. This holding, affirmed on appeal at 201 F.3d 680 (5th Cir. 2000), established that live cattle did not qualify as "perishable" under the statute and limited its application to fact-based claims provable by , influencing subsequent challenges to similar in other states by underscoring constitutional limits on economic regulation of speech. The decision's emphasis on federal supremacy and rule-of-law constraints over protectionist reforms has been referenced in analyses of commercial speech jurisprudence, deterring broad enforcement of such statutes against non-falsifiable critiques. While advancing access to justice through procedural rigor in commercial and constitutional disputes, Robinson's rulings occasionally faced pushback in conservative contexts; the Winfrey outcome, culminating in a verdict for the defendants, prompted complaints from cattle producers who contended it privileged national media narratives over regional industry viability, potentially softening accountability for statements impacting local economies reliant on . Her broader docket, including energy sector cases like Danden Petroleum v. Northern Natural Gas Co. (615 F. Supp. 1093, N.D. Tex. 1985), applied contract principles to interstate without deference to progressive regulatory expansions, maintaining for predictable enforcement in Texas's resource-dependent governance. This pattern of decisions, grounded in textual and constitutional fidelity, sustained a oriented toward established legal frameworks rather than reforms.

Personal Life

Family and Relationships

Mary Lou Robinson married A.J. Robinson in 1949 after meeting him at the University of School of Law, where they both studied. The couple, who remained married for 42 years until A.J.'s death in 1992, initially established the Robinson and Robinson in Austin before relocating to Amarillo in 1950, where they practiced together and raised their family. In Amarillo, Robinson and her husband maintained a stable family environment that supported her professional pursuits, including her entry into local roles; A.J. assisted her professionally as a partner and personally, such as helping her don her judicial robe. The couple had three children: Rebecca McCoy (married to Mark McCoy), Diana Robinson, and Matt Robinson. They were also grandparents to numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Death and Memorials

Mary Lou Robinson died on January 26, 2019, in , at the age of 92 from natural causes, while surrounded by family. Her death concluded a judicial career of more than six decades, which had commenced in local Amarillo courts after her admission to the bar in 1949. A visitation for family and friends occurred on January 28, 2019, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Boxwell Brothers Directors in Amarillo. services followed on January 29, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, officiated by Rev. Joan Gaines, with burial at Llano Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to organizations such as the Amarillo Children's Home or Women's . The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of issued a news release confirming her passing and detailing her federal service. Local coverage in the Amarillo Globe-News noted reactions from attorneys and community figures recalling her professional tenure. The adopted House Resolution 348 on her behalf, recognizing her life and public roles. The University of Texas School of Law published an in memoriam statement acknowledging her graduation from the institution in 1950.

References

  1. https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/robinson-mary-lou
  2. https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/region-7-greater-southwest/region-7-newsroom/greater-southwest-feature-stories-and-news-releases/gsa-honors-judge-mary-lou-robinson-for-womens-history-month-03292021
  3. https://law.utexas.edu/magazine/2025/04/30/mary-lou-robinson-50/
  4. https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/judiciary-news/2019/02/01/pioneering-judge-mary-lou-robinson-dies-92
  5. https://www.facebook.com/BoxwellBrothersFuneralDirectors/photos/a.2481608108546870/2546700252037655/?type=3
  6. https://www.amarillo.com/story/news/crime/2016/02/07/lifetime-service/13203058007/
  7. https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Globe-NewsWomenOfTheYear.pdf
  8. https://www.actx.edu/foundation/pagesmith/34
  9. https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/documents/RobinsonPressRelease_0.pdf
  10. https://ballotpedia.org/Mary_Lou_Robinson
  11. https://law.utexas.edu/news/2019/01/31/in-memoriam-mary-lou-robinson-50/
  12. https://blog.texasbar.com/2015/09/articles/uncategorized/u-s-district-judge-mary-lou-robinson-to-be-inducted-as-texas-legal-legend/
  13. https://www.amarillo.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/31/2016-woman-year-7-decades-judge-mary-lou-robinson-made-her-mark-legal-field/13066267007/
  14. https://www.myhighplains.com/news/local-federal-court-judge-mary-lou-robinson-passes-away/
  15. https://www.uscourts.gov/data-news/judiciary-news/2019/08/14/40-years-later-pioneering-women-judges-savor-place-history
  16. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/11/858/2289177/
  17. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/18/us/gain-for-winfrey-in-suit-by-beef-producers-in-texas.html
  18. https://www.jw.com/news/oprah-beef-trial/
  19. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oprah-two-cattlemen-zero/
  20. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/183/854/2285112/
  21. https://lib-dspace1.ttu.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.12255/215241/The_Post_Dispatch_2000_12_07.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  22. https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/almID/1202748966735/
  23. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/01/28/trailblazing-texas-federal-judge-fought-for-women-s-rights/
  24. https://www.myhighplains.com/news/u-s-district-judge-mary-lou-robinson-announces-senior-status/
  25. https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/86R/billtext/html/HR00348I.htm
  26. https://www.quimbee.com/cases/texas-beef-group-v-winfrey
  27. https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/pink-slimemarketing-uncertainty-and-risk-in-the-24-hour-news-cycle/pink-slime-and-the-legal-history-of-food-disparagement
  28. https://time.com/archive/6918245/oprah-case-less-of-a-beef/
  29. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/615/1093/1514771/
  30. https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/documents/RobinsonObit.pdf
  31. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/amarillo/name/mary-robinson-obituary?id=10980693
  32. https://www.texasbar.com/attorneys/member.cfm?id=212337
  33. https://www.amarillo.com/story/news/2019/01/28/longtime-judge-mary-lou-robinson-dies-at-92/6184105007/
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