April 30th, 2025, 12:30pm MDT
Provo, Utah – Thursday, April 23rd, J. Clifford Wallace was a lecturer at the Marriott Center during the year of Brigham Young University’s President of C. Shane Reese University and Justin M. Collings.
For Wallace’s “exceptional life and contribution to society and the world,” President Reese, as a federal judge, awarded him an honorary doctorate from the university and public service.
President Darryn H. Oaks, the first counselor of the first presidency and a longtime friend of Wallace, attended the event and congratulated him on behalf of the first presidency, including President Russell M. Nelson.
In Wallace’s admiration, Oaks noted that the first presidency to make up the leadership of the BYU board is not a distant observer. “In our global responsibility, we are sufficient observers of J. Clifford Wallace’s global performance.”
Looking at his resume, both stand out and outline their long-term careers.
Wallace has been in the US federal court system for more than 60 years, including the Supreme Court Justice of the Ninth Circuit.
In 1996, Wallace assumed the “senior position.” This marks the semi-retirement of some judges, but Wallace continues to hear appeals and fulfills the liability of other courts.
In a 2017 Church News interview, Wallace, who was 88 at the time, said he had no plans to retire. “I told my 95-year-old wife I would reevaluate it,” he said.
Currently 96, Wallace recently told the San Diego Union Tribune that he plans to work until he is 100 years old. He was the longest US Federal Circuit Judge of all time, the first member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the first member to serve in the US Court of Appeals and then serve as Chief Judge.
In addition to aggressive caseload handling, Wallace continues to travel the world to help developing countries improve the rule of law by developing judicial needs assessments and implementing programs to advance judicial management. To date, he has visited over 70 countries, from Pakistan to Australia, China and Peru.
He is also the founder of the American Inns of Court and is an association that provides education and guidance to lawyers, judges and other legal professionals.
In 2022, when he received the Balch Prize for the Rule of Law, Wallace attributed his willingness to help others into his faith. “I think they’re all my brothers and sisters. I shouldn’t treat them or I don’t want to treat them differently than him,” he said.
That belief also prompted his work with international judicial institutions. “I wanted to protect human rights,” he said. “The courts must be functional and effective without leading to things settling down on the streets.”
At the opening ceremony, President Oaks praised Wallace as a valuable example of the rule of law and praised his example to lawyers, judges and citizens around the world.
In addition to highlighting Wallace’s extraordinary career, President Oaks praised Wallace as “a person who excelled in all important areas of life,” adding that “he is an exemplary patriarch of the family, a well-known teacher in all the missions of the Church, and an unequal person in his commitment to the legal profession and management of justice.”
Since joining church in high school, Wallace has harnessed many abilities, including bishop, stake president, community representative, president of San Diego California Temple, and Temple Sealer.
Two times widows, Wallace is married to Dixie Jenny Robison Wallace. Together, they have 15 children, 51 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren.
In accepting an honorary degree, he attributed the success he achieved in his life to advice from the late Elder Le Grand Richards, a member of the quorum of the 12 Apostles.
As a young trial lawyer trying to establish his practice, and with his young family at home, Wallace was called the new stake presidency counselor.
Elder Richards advised him to first prioritize his family and his church services. “And if you’re still there, you can make a living,” Elder Richards told Wallace.
“I have found that I have achieved more real value in my life’s efforts, carefully praying, aligning the most important parts of my life with their eternal values,” Wallace said.
He tells the alumni, “God will bless you at the end of the work of your life and you can turn around and say, ‘I’ve done it right.’ ”
