Oklahoma Supreme Court
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The Oklahoma Supreme Court was founded in 1907, and is the highest court in the state for civil matters.[1]
Jurisdiction
"The Supreme Court is part of a co-equal, bifurcated judicial system in Oklahoma, under which it handles all civil matters, and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals handles all criminal issues." The Supreme Court has the authority to "issue, hear and determine writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, prohibition and such other remedial writs as may be provided by law and may exercise such other and further jurisdiction as may be conferred by statute."
Case load
The Tulsa World looked at eight years of Oklahoma Supreme Court filings, opinions and settlement conferences, and between 1999 and 2006, the total number of cases handled by the Supreme Court decreased 28 percent from 1,874 cases to 1,354. During that same time, the number of opinions also dropped. In 2006, the court rendered 99 opinions. The court has rendered as many as 250 opinions in one year, which was 2000.[2]
The court's justices
The Oklahoma Supreme Court is a constitutional tribunal consisting of nine Justices. Each Justice is selected from one of nine judicial districts and sits for a six-year term.[3]
The initial term in office for Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and Court of Appeals judges lasts one year; judges are then put up for a general election, and if retained, they serve a six year term. District Court judges serve an initial term of four years--if re-elected, they serve additional terms.
Selection of justices
Article VII of the Oklahoma Constitution determines the selection process of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The judge must submit their name to the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission. In the event of a vacancy, the JNC submits three names to the Governor, who then appoints one to the court. The justice then serves until the next general election. If the Governor does not appoint a replacement within 60 days, the Chief Justice then takes the responsibility.[4]
Qualifications
Each Justice, at the time of their election or appointment, must be at least thirty years old, must be a registered voter in the Supreme Court Judicial district they represent for at least one year before filing for the position, and must be a licensed practicing attorney or judge (or both) in Oklahoma for five years before their appointment. The potential Justice must maintain their certification as an attorney or judge during their tenure in office in order to main their position.
Current justices
Judicial selection in the appellate and district courts
| Merit Selection through Nominating Commission | Gubernatorial or Legislative Appointment without Nominating Commission | Partisan Election | Nonpartisan Election | Combined Merit Selection and Other Methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Court of Appeals | NA | NA | District Court | NA |
History of the court
The court originated with five justices, but in 1917, four additional justices were appointed to deal with the increasing caseload.[5]
2008 elections
Tom Colbert
Prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, he served as a Judge on the state Court of Civil Appeals from 1999 to 2004, and was the first African-American to serve in that post. He served as Chief Judge during his final year on the Court. On October 7th, 2004, Tom Colbert was appointed to the Supreme Court as the Court's 6th district representative. He was appointed by Governor Brad Henry and he is the first African-American to serve on the court. On November 7th, 2006, Judge Colbert was retained by the people of Oklahoma with 530,036 of 785,074 votes.[6]
For more information, see the page for Justice Tom Colbert.
John F. Reif
John F. Reif's first judicial appointment was as a Special District Judge for the Fourteenth Judicial District, a position that he held from 1981 until 1984. He was appointed to the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals in 1984, where he served as judge, Vice Chief Judge (1993 and 2001) and Chief Judge (1994 and 2002) until his appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2007. Each Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice is selected from one of nine judicial districts and sits for a six-year term. Justice Reif is from the first district.[7] He was appointed to the court on October 22, 2007 by Governor Brad Henry to fill the vacancy of retired justice Robert Lavender. Reif was sworn into office on January 23, 2008. Justice Reif faced a retention vote for his Supreme Court seat in November 2008, and was retained with 64% of the vote.
For more information, see the page for Justice John Reif.
Joseph M. Watt
After working in private practice, Justice Watt was appointed as Altus City Attorney in 1980 and served in that capacity until his appointment as a Special District Judge for Jackson County in 1985. The following year he was elected as an Associate Judge. He has also served as General Counsel in the Office of Oklahoma Governor David Walters. From 2003 to 2007, he served two terms as Chief Justice. In 2005, he was reelected to an unprecedented second term as Chief Justice. In 2008, Watt was subject to a retention election, winning 64% of the vote for retention (36% voted not to retain him). He will therefore serve another six years on the bench, with his new term expiring in 2014.
For more information, see the page for Justice Joseph Watt.
See also
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission
- Oklahoma Supreme Court elections
- Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
- Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals
- Oklahoma judicial news
- Judicial selection in Oklahoma
- Oklahoma blogs
External links
- Oklahoma Supreme Court Official Site
- Oklahoma State Auditor report on the Oklahoma Supreme Court, 2004
- List of Decisions by Oklahoma Judge
- Judicial selection: Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court
References
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