District: 4
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Oklahoma County
Spouse: Richard Strubhar
Children: Rustin, Michael, and Khristan
Judge Rita Strubhar was appointed to Court on July 6, 1993, by Governor David Walters to fill the term of Tom Brett. She served as Presiding Judge in 1998-99. She graduated from Bartlesville High School. She attended Phillips University receiving a B.S. in education. She also has a Master’s Degree in English from the University of Central Oklahoma. She received her Juris Doctorate from Oklahoma City University School of Law. She taught high school business and English in Oklahoma City and Mustang public schools. After graduating from law school she was an assistant district attorney and in the private practice of law. She was an adjunct professor for Southern Nazarene University, and was the associate district judge of Canadian County from 1984 to 1993 when she was appointed to this Court. When Judge Strubhar was appointed to the Court, she earned the distinction of being the first woman in history of the state to sit on the Court and the first woman to be elected as Presiding Judge. She has been active in numerous commissions and committees, children’s issues, and her participation in the Oklahoma and Canadian County Bar Associations is extensive.