Associate Justice, Texas Supreme Court, 1957-1971
Chief Justice, Texas Supreme Court, 1972-1982
Joe Robert Greenhill was born July 14, 1914 in Houston. Following graduation from Houston public schools, he attended The University of Texas, where he earned B.A. and B.B.A. degrees in 1936 and an LL.B. degree in 1939, each with highest honors. He began practicing law in Houston and joined the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II, serving in the Pacific. In 1948 Greenhill became first assistant attorney general for the state of Texas, and helped argue the landmark case, Sweatt v. Painter, before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1950 he co-founded the Austin law firm, Graves, Dougherty & Greenhill, where he practiced until 1957.
Greenhill's long and distinguished career on the bench began in 1957, when Gov. Price Daniel appointed him an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Greenhill won election to the position the following year. He served as an associate justice until 1972, when he was appointed chief justice. He served as chief justice for ten years before retiring in 1982. While on the bench he labored to bring about a Texas constitutional amendment to give the court of civil appeals criminal jurisdiction.
Following his retirement from the bench, Greenhill served in leadership positions in numerous legal organizations and worked to change laws that discouraged mediation and arbitration, which has reduced the backlog of cases and given low-income citizens better access to the judicial system.
He currently serves as counsel to the Austin law firm of Baker and Botts, primarily advising attorneys with cases before the Texas Supreme Court or other appellate courts. He is also director emeritus of the Texas Bar Foundation and president of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society.
Greenhill, Joe R. (visited September 21, 2006).
http://www.bakerbotts.com/lawyers/detail.aspx?id=0ae17456-0e49-40ed-bd52-7a187601b7a8Greenhill, Joe R.
Texas State Cemetery (visited September 21, 2006).
http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?step=1&pers_id=2658
