Paying tribute to Judge Bob Rabon

Choctaw Nation pays tribute to Judge Bob Rabon, who passed away on March 5, 2023.

He graduated from Rattan High School in 1957 and received his Bachelor’s degree in education from Southeastern State College in 1963. Judge Rabon went on to the University of Oklahoma School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor’s Degree in 1968.

Judge Rabon was known as a “lawyer’s lawyer” throughout Oklahoma. He was extremely active in the Oklahoma Bar Association, where he served on the Board of Governors from 1987-1989, was Vice President of the O.B.A., 1990 and served as President in 1993. He was a member of The Oklahoma Bar Foundation from 1992-1993, where he received the Distinguished Service Award. Judge Rabon served on the O.B.A.’s Committee on Bench and Bar from 1971- 1974. He also served as a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Commission on Administration of Justice from 1975-1982. He served on the O.B.A.’s Committee on Specialization and Certification in 1996, Long-Range Planning Committee from 1992-1993 and the Bar Association’s Farm Crisis Committee from 1992-1996. In 1997, he was admitted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, which distinguishes and recognizes the best trial lawyers in both the United States and Canada.

Judge Rabon served the Choctaw Nation for 47 years as General Counsel before serving most recently as Appellate Judge for the Nation’s District Court.

Judge Rabon was instrumental in developing Choctaw Nation’s court system and was the sole negotiator between the Tribe and the State for the Model Gaming Compact, which enabled Choctaw Nation to conduct Class 3 gaming.

Judge Rabon had the distinct honor and privilege of arguing two cases before the United States Supreme Court. In 1989, he represented both tribes in a case styled “The Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma V The United States of America.” In 1995, he represented the Chickasaws in a case styled “Oklahoma Tax Commission V Chickasaw Nation.”

He was also instrumental in negotiating the settlement between both tribes and the United States for the loss of several million acres of timber around the turn of the century. Aside from the 87 million dollar damages the Tribes received, the settlement also required then-President Barack Obama to appear at a tribal gathering in Durant.

Visit his obituary for more information on Judge Rabon.