Articles
-
Judicial Reform
OCPA Announces Oklahoma Judicial Scorecard
The Oklahoma Judicial Scorecard will look at rulings by justices on the Oklahoma Supreme Court.Staff | April 22, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
JNC process lacks transparency
A flier recently distributed at the Oklahoma Capitol tries, desperately, to convince lawmakers that Oklahoma’s secretive Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) should be preserved and that Oklahomans will somehow be worse off if we instead adopt the judicial-selection process developed by our nation’s Founding Fathers. But the flier doesn’t pass the laugh test.Staff | April 17, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
60 percent of JNC members are not Republicans
In a state where a majority of voters are Republicans, only 40% of JNC members are Republicans.Jonathan Small | April 15, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
Judicial Nominating Commission structure hides partisan tilt
Defenders claim the JNC is “nonpartisan.” But the membership requirements of the group have granted Democratic partisans outsized influence in selecting Oklahoma judges.Ray Carter | April 15, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
Democratic donors dominate OBA leadership
Campaign-donation records show the Oklahoma Bar Association's leadership is stacked with Democratic partisans.Ray Carter | April 12, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
Group that selects Oklahoma judges loves Cuba?
The Oklahoma Bar Association offered its attorneys continuing legal education (CLE) credit for vacationing in a totalitarian communist country that flouts the rule of law.Ray Carter | April 11, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
Judicial-nomination transparency bill clears committee
Legislation that would end the closed-door, secretive process currently used to select Oklahoma judges has received strong support from a House committee.Ray Carter | April 9, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
Another dubious Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling points up the need for reform
The court’s threadbare ruling on the minimum-wage issue highlights, once again, the importance of overhauling the judicial-selection process in Oklahoma. We need a system that produces judges whose rulings and opinions are grounded in law, not random political whims.Jonathan Small | April 1, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
‘It’s not the most transparent process’: McCall notes problems with JNC
Members of the Oklahoma Senate have approved legislation that would allow voters to reform Oklahoma’s judicial-selection process. The proposed state constitutional amendment would eliminate the secretive Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) and instead adopt the model established in the U.S. Constitution that allows the executive to nominate any qualified person to serve as judge, subject to legislative approval.Ray Carter | March 19, 2024
-
Judicial Reform
Judicial-selection reform wins strong approval in Senate
Nominees for the Oklahoma Supreme Court could soon be selected by the governor based on merit, rather than having nominees chosen in secret by an outside group significantly influenced by special interests and Democratic campaign donors.Ray Carter | March 12, 2024