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Robert Lee Bobbitt (1888-1972) of Laredo presided over the House of Representatives during the 40th Legislature of 1927. That legislature, convening during the first term of progressive governor Dan Moody, was known for its efforts in the area of judicial administration, particularly its reforms in the appeals court system that helped to equalize the load of cases that those courts carried. Bobbitt was born on January 24, 1888, on a farm six miles south of Hillsboro. He lived there until age 22, when he became a student at Carlisle Military Academy in Arlington. Bobbitt subsequently received a teacher's certificate from North Texas State Normal College in Denton, although he never entered the teaching profession. After enrolling in law school at The University of Texas in 1912, he worked his way through three years of study and emerged in 1915 as president of his law class. Following conferral of his law degree, Bobbitt entered into partnership with an attorney in Laredo in 1916 and joined another firm in the same city the following year. Bobbitt interrupted his career in October 1917 when after the onset of World War I he joined the army. He was assigned originally to the 90th Division, but was transferred to a field artillery depot in South Carolina just before the division was sent to France, and consequently he did not see any actual combat duty. During his time in the artillery unit, Bobbitt was occasionally diverted to work as soldiers' defense counsel. Bobbitt was discharged with the rank of captain in 1919. After returning to Laredo, Bobbitt resumed his local practice and from 1920 to 1922 was a member of the State Democratic Committee. In 1922, he ran for and was elected to the House of Representatives. A member of the 38th through 40th legislatures, he became chairman of the house judiciary committee in the 39th Legislature and in his subsequent term was elevated to the speakership. Back in Laredo following his period in the legislature, Bobbitt became district attorney for Webb County in 1928. In September of the following year, Governor Moody appointed him to a vacancy in the office of attorney general. Bobbitt remained in that position until January 1931, at which time it went to an elected successor. In 1935, Bobbitt moved to San Antonio, where he served for a time as associate justice of the Fourth Court of Civil Appeals. Bobbitt, during his later years, served on the state highway commission and also chaired the Board of Directors of Texas A&I College. He died in San Antonio on September 14, 1972. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-2002. [Austin, Tex.]: Texas Legislative Council, 2002. link: Robert Bobbitt.
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