Scott L. Palk

Scott Lawrence Palk (born 1967) is an Assistant Dean at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and is a nominee to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Biography

Palk received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1989 from Oklahoma State University. He received a Juris Doctor in 1992 from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. From 1992 to 2002, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Cleveland County in Norman, Oklahoma, serving as First Assistant District Attorney from 1999 to 2002. From 2002 to 2011, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, holding a number of managerial roles beginning in 2004, including Deputy Criminal Chief and Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council Coordinator. Since 2011, he has served as the Assistant Dean for Students and Assistant General Counsel at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. In addition to overseeing admissions and providing legal counsel, he serves as a consultant to the University's Threat Assessment Review Committee, advising in areas of criminal threat assessment and legal access.^[1]

Nomination to district court

On December 16, 2015, President Obama nominated Palk to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, to the seat vacated by Judge Stephen P. Friot, who took senior status on December 1, 2014.^[2][3] He received a hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on April 20, 2016.^[4] On May 19, 2016 his nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote.^[5] His nomination is now pending before the full Senate.

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