On New Year’s Day, Carey, Saxon and I went to Marshall to visit my parents. You see, the next day, was going to be a BIG day for my dad. After a year of hard work on the campaign trail, Dad would be sworn-in as a Justice on the 6th Texas Court of Appeals.
Associate Justice of the Sixth Court of Appeals of the State of Texas, Bailey C. Moseley pulls some notes from his pocket
before receiving some help from Ben Z. Grant putting on his robe during his investiture Tuesday in the District Courtroom of Harrison County.
The big day of festivities started with a lunch hosted by my dad and by his brother, Sam Moseley. Dad insisted that we bring Saxon, who decided she had stage fright the minute she arrived (My cousin’s wife Marilyn had the best of intentions of holding her, but Saxon decided crying loudly would be her course of action! Marilyn - it wasn’t your fault!).
After the lunch, we walked across the town’s square to the Harrison County Courthouse to join a standing-room-only crowd of around 250 who were there for Dad’s “investiture” ceremony. Follow the link (more) for the rest of the story…
The special session begin with the “All Rise…Here ye, here ye…” and with all three of the 6th Court Justices taking their place at the bench. The justices gave their advice and had nice words to say about Dad. Justice Carter said he had known Dad for a long time and that whenever Dad appeared before him, when he was a district court judge, that Dad was always well-prepared and knowledgeable of the law.
Justices Josh Morriss and Jack Carter then bid farewell to their retiring colleague, Justice Don Ross, who stepped down from the bench. Dad was then given the oath of office by his friend Ben Z Grant, a former justice on the 6th court. I was honored to hold the Bible from my great-grandfather’s law library while Dad was sworn-in. Dad gave a great speech of acceptance and then took his position on the bench with the other two justices. Saxon slept thru the entire ceremony.
After the ceremony, the Harrison County Bar Association hosted a reception in historical downtown Marshall’s Weisman Center. Great day. Here’s a link to the story in the Marshall News Messenger and photos below (click the photos to see more).
hint: click any of the photos and you’ll be able to see more
