Oklahoma Supreme Court justice vacancy: Patrick Wyrick (April 2019)
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| Wyrick Vacancy Oklahoma Supreme Court |
| Vacancy date |
| Vacancy status |
| Nomination date |
| November 20, 2019 |
| Table of contents |
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Appointee candidates Selection process Noteworthy events About Justice Wyrick |
| See also |
| Recent news External links Footnotes |
Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Patrick Wyrick vacated his seat on the state supreme court on April 10, 2019, when he received commission to become an Article III federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
On November 20, 2019, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) appointed Dustin Rowe to succeed Wyrick on the state supreme court. Rowe was Stitt's second nominee to the nine-member supreme court.[1]
Under Oklahoma state law, the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) submits three names to the governor, who then appoints one individual to the court. The justice serves until the next general election.[2]
The appointee
- See also: Dustin Rowe
At the time of his supreme court appointment, Rowe was district judge of the Chickasaw Nation District Court, a position he assumed in 2011. From 2005 to 2011, Rowe was special judge of the Chickasaw Nation District Court. He began practicing law as an attorney in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, in 2001.[1]
Rowe earned his B.A. with honors from East Central University in 1998 and his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, where he was named a Lee B. Thompson Scholar in 2001.[1]
Rowe was elected mayor of Tishomingo in April 1994, at the age of 18. He served two terms.[1]
Appointee candidates and nominations
The Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission submitted three applicants to Gov. Stitt. According to The Oklahoman, the three applicants were members of the Republican Party.[3]
- Judge Mark Campbell
- Attorney Dustin Rowe
- Judge Jonathan Sullivan
Former candidates
The commission initially received seven applications to fill Justice Wyrick's vacant seat.[4]
- Attorney Gregory Barnard
- Judge Mark Campbell
- Judge Marion D. Fry
- Judge Tim Mills
- Attorney Dustin Rowe
- Judge Jonathan Sullivan
- Judge Jana Kay Wallace
The selection process
At the time of the vacancy, Article VII of the Oklahoma Constitution determined the selection process of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The governor appointed a justice from a list of three candidates provided by the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (OJNC). The appointed justice was required to come from the appropriate Supreme Court judicial district. The appointee served until the next general election, when they stood for retention. At that time, the replacement would be retained for a full six-year term or to serve out the unexpired term of their predecessor.[5]
If the governor did not choose a replacement within 60 days of the vacancy, the chief justice was responsible for appointing a successor.[6]
Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (OJNC)
At the time of the vacancy, the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (OJNC) was the state's selection commission that chose potential nominees for appointment by the governor to judicial positions on Oklahoma's appellate courts. It consisted of 15 members who joined the board by either election through the Oklahoma Bar Association, appointment by the governor, appointment by the president pro tempore of the state Senate and the speaker of the House, or selected by an eight-member majority of the other appointed and elected commission members.
When a vacancy was announced, interested individuals applied to fill it. The OJNC evaluated those individuals to determine if the applicants were qualified to serve as a judge in the state. When the commission completed its evaluation, it submitted a list of the three top applicants in writing to both the governor and the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.[7][8][9]
Qualifications
At the time of the vacancy, justices had to be at least 30 years old, a registered voter in the Supreme Court Judicial district they would represent for at least one year before filing for the position, and a licensed practicing attorney or judge (or both) in Oklahoma for five years prior to their appointment at the time of their election or appointment. The potential Justice had to maintain their certification as an attorney or judge during their tenure in office in order to remain in their position.[2]
About Justice Wyrick
- See also: Patrick Wyrick
Wyrick was a nonpartisan justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 2017 to 2019. He was appointed to the court by Governor Mary Fallin (R) on February 9, 2017, to succeed retired Justice Steven Taylor.[10] In April 2019, Wyrick was elevated to a federal judicial position on the Western District of Oklahoma.
Below is a brief outline of Wyrick's professional career before he became a federal judge:
- 2017-2019: Justice, Oklahoma Supreme Court
- 2011-2017: Solicitor General, Oklahoma
- 2008-2011: Associate attorney, GableGotwals
- 2007-2008: Law clerk to the Hon. James Payne, Eastern District of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma, Northern District of Oklahoma[11]
Wyrick received his B.A. from the University of Oklahoma in 2004 and his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2007.[11]
Noteworthy events
Wyrick elevated to federal judgeship
- See also: Patrick Wyrick and Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On April 11, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Wyrick as an Article III judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.[12] The U.S. Senate confirmed Wyrick on April 9, 2019, by a vote of 53-47.[13] He received his judicial commission on April 10, 2019.[14]
To read more about Wyrick's federal judicial nomination, click here.
To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
Change in Senate rules
Wyrick was the third judge to be confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[15]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[16]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[17] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Other state supreme court appointments in 2019
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2019
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2019. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
| 2019 judicial vacancies filled by appointment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Date of Vacancy | Justice | Reason | Date Vacancy Filled | Successor |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Fred Lewis | Retirement | January 9, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Barbara Pariente | Retirement | January 14, 2019 | Robert J. Luck |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Peggy Quince | Retirement | January 22, 2019 | Carlos Muñiz |
| Kentucky Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | Bill Cunningham | Retirement | March 27, 2019 | David Buckingham |
| Mississippi Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | William Waller | Retirement | December 19, 2018 | Kenny Griffis |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | February 28, 2019 | Mark Martin | Private sector[18] | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley | Apppointed to new post[19] | March 11, 2019 | Mark Davis |
| Arizona Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | John Pelander | Retirement | April 26, 2019 | James Beene |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 10, 2019 | Patrick Wyrick | Elevation to a federal judgeship[20] | November 20, 2019 | Dustin Rowe |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 30, 2019 | John Reif | Retirement | September 17, 2019 | M. John Kane IV |
| Arizona Supreme Court | July 3, 2019 | Scott Bales | Private sector[21] | September 4, 2019 | Bill Montgomery |
| Texas Supreme Court | July 31, 2019 | Jeff Brown | Elevation to a federal judgeship[22] | August 26, 2019 | Jane Bland |
| New Hampshire Supreme Court | August 23, 2019 | Robert Lynn | Retirement | January 7, 2021 | Gordon MacDonald |
| Virginia Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Elizabeth McClanahan | Retirement | February 15, 2019 | Teresa M. Chafin |
| Vermont Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Marilyn Skoglund | Retirement | December 5, 2019 | William Cohen |
| Kansas Supreme Court | September 8, 2019 | Lee Johnson | Retirement | December 16, 2019 | Evelyn Z. Wilson |
| Delaware Supreme Court | October 30, 2019 | Leo E. Strine Jr. | Retirement | November 7, 2019 | Collins Seitz Jr. |
| Iowa Supreme Court | November 15, 2019 | Mark Cady | Death | January 28, 2020 | Dana Oxley |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 19, 2019 | Robert J. Luck | Elevation to a federal judgeship[23] | September 14, 2020 | Jamie Rutland Grosshans |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 20, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa | Elevation to a federal judgeship[24] | May 26, 2020 | John D. Couriel |
| Kansas Supreme Court | December 17, 2019 | Lawton Nuss | Retirement | March 11, 2020 | Keynen Wall |
| Maine Supreme Court | December 2019 | Jeffrey Hjelm | Retirement | January 6, 2020 | Catherine Connors |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 OK.gov, "Governor Stitt appoints Dustin P. Rowe to Supreme Court of Oklahoma," November 20, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, "The Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court," accessed April 12, 2019
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Stitt to pick next Supreme Court justice from three southeastern Oklahoma judges," October 12, 2019
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Stitt receives names of finalists for Supreme Court vacancy," July 31, 2019
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Oklahoma," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ Oklahoma Public Research System, "Section VII-B-4: Vacancy in Judicial Office - Filling," accessed August 29, 2014
- ↑ www.judicialselection.com, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Oklahoma," accessed December 30, 2013
- ↑ Oklahoma State Court Network, "Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ Oklegal.net, "Oklahoma Constitution, Article VII-B, Section 4," accessed May 1, 2015
- ↑ Governor Mary Fallin, "Gov. Fallin Names Patrick Wyrick to Fill Vacancy on Oklahoma Supreme Court," February 9, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Patrick Robert Wyrick," accessed April 9, 2019
- ↑ White House, "Ten Nominations Sent to the Senate Today," April 11, 2018
- ↑ Congress.gov, "PN258 — Patrick R. Wyrick — The Judiciary," accessed April 10, 2019
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Wyrick, Patrick Robert," accessed April 12, 2019
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ Martin left the court to become the dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- ↑ Beasley was appointed chief justice of the court.
- ↑ Wyrick was confirmed to a seat on the Western District of Oklahoma on April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Bales left the court to become executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver.
- ↑ Brown was confirmed to a seat on the Southern District of Texas on July 31, 2019.
- ↑ Luck was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 19, 2019.
- ↑ Lagoa was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 20, 2019.
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Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Oklahoma, Northern District of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Oklahoma, Northern District of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma
State courts:
Oklahoma Supreme Court • Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals • Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals • Oklahoma District Courts • Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Court of Existing Claims
State resources:
Courts in Oklahoma • Oklahoma judicial elections • Judicial selection in Oklahoma
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