Carol Hansen

Carol M. Hansen was a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma. She became the first woman to serve as Chief Judge in any Oklahoma appellate court. She resigned from the court in 2012.

Background and education

Judge Hansen was born in Oklahoma City. She married Paul Hansen (now deceased) and has five children. After raising five daughters, she returned to school and received her bachelor's and Juris Doctor degrees from Oklahoma City University in 1974. From 1975 to 1980, she worked as a legal assistant for Supreme Court Justice John Doolin. Then she worked for three years with Legal Aid of Western Oklahoma. When her husband was hired as coach for the Oklahoma State University basketball team, Judge Hansen began her career in 1983 as a municipal judge in Stillwater.

Legal career

Judge Hansen became a marshal for the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1984, and was then appointed to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals by Governor George Nigh in July, 1985, replacing Judge Joe Young, who had resigned. The following year, she was retained by voters in a contested election. In 1993, she became the first woman to serve as Chief Judge in any Oklahoma appellate court.

On August 20, 2012, Governor Mary Fallin announced that she had appointed Brian Goree to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals District 6, Office 2. Goree would replace Judge Carol Hansen, who had resigned. The reason for Hansen's resignation was not published at the time, but a later article about the non-profit Independent Transportation Network (ITN) revealed that Judge Hansen had experienced such severe vision problems that she felt it necessary to leave the court, but also to give up driving a car.

Memberships

• American Judicature Society,
• American, Oklahoma and Oklahoma County bar associations
• Dispute Resolution Advisory Board
• Ginsburg Inn of Court

Judge Hansen is also a trustee of Oklahoma City University and an Oklahoma Bar Foundation Fellow.