Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Oklahoma Supreme Court justice vacancy (February 2021)
| Oklahoma Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Colbert vacancy |
| Date: February 1, 2021 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Dana Kuehn |
| Date: July 26, 2021 |
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) appointed Dana Kuehn to the Oklahoma Supreme Court on July 26, 2021. Kuehn succeeded Justice Tom Colbert, who retired on February 1, 2021. Kuehn was Gov. Stitt's third nominee to the nine-member supreme court.
At the time of the vacancy, state supreme court justices were selected by the governor with help from a nominating commission.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Oklahoma Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2021.
The appointee
- See also: Dana Kuehn
Before her appointment to the supreme court, Kuehn served as a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. She was appointed to that seat in 2017. From 2006 to 2017, Kuehn was a Tulsa County associate district judge. Prior to becoming a judge, she worked as a Tulsa County district attorney and as an attorney in private practice with Steidley & Neal, PLLC.[1]
Kuehn earned a B.A. in political science from Oklahoma State University and a J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law.[1]
With her appointment to the supreme court, Kuehn became the first woman to serve on both of Oklahoma's high courts.[1]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On June 3, the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) selected three finalists to fill the vacancy:[2]
- Judge Dana Kuehn
- Judge Stacie Hixon
- Judge Rebecca Nightingale
Applicants
The JNC interviewed eight candidates for the vacancy in order to submit three of those candidates to Gov. Stitt for consideration. The eight candidates interviewed by the JNC were:[3]
- Judge Kurt Glassco
- Judge Stacie Hixon
- Judge James Huber
- Judge Dana Kuehn
- Attorney James Milton
- Judge Rebecca Nightingale
- Attorney Jennifer Struble
- Judge Russell Vaclaw
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Oklahoma
At the time of the vacancy, the governor appointed the nine justices on the Oklahoma Supreme Court. A nominating commission would recommend three candidates for the vacant seat and the governor selected an appointee from that list.[3] If the governor failed to appoint a justice within 60 days of receiving the list of candidates, the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court would appoint the replacement.[4]
Appointed justices served an initial term of one year, after which they had to stand for retention. If voters opted to retain the justices during the next general election, they would go on to serve either a full six-year term or the remainder of an unexpired term.[5]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Oklahoma Supreme Court
Justices
Following Colbert's retirement, the Oklahoma Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ James Edmondson | Appointed by Gov. Brad Henry (D) in 2003 | |
| ■ M. John Kane IV | Appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) in 2019 | |
| ■ James R. Winchester | Appointed by Gov. Frank Keating (R) in 2000 | |
| ■ Noma D. Gurich | Appointed by Gov. Brad Henry (D) in 2011 | |
| ■ Richard Darby | Appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin (R) in 2018 | |
| ■ Douglas L. Combs | Appointed by Gov. Brad Henry (D) in 2010 | |
| ■ Yvonne Kauger | Appointed by Gov. George Nigh (D) in 1984 | |
| ■ Dustin Rowe | Appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) in 2019 |
About the court
Founded in 1907, the Oklahoma Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort for civil matters, while the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for criminal matters. The supreme court has nine judgeships. The current chief of the court is Dustin Rowe.
About Justice Colbert
- See also: Tom Colbert
Justice Colbert joined the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2004. He was appointed to the court on October 7, 2004, by Gov. Brad Henry (D). Colbert served as the court's chief justice from 2013 through 2014. He was the first Black justice to serve on the state supreme court.[6]
Colbert earned a bachelor's degree from Kentucky State University in 1973, a master's degree in education from Eastern Kentucky University in 1976, and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 1982. He served in the U.S. Army and received an honorable discharge in 1975.[6]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2021
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2021
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2021. 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.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, "Governor Kevin Stitt Appoints Judge Dana L. Kuehn to The Supreme Court of Oklahoma," July 26, 2021
- ↑ The Oklahoman, "Gov. Kevin Stitt gets three finalists for Oklahoma Supreme Court vacancy," June 3, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ponca City News, "Interviews set for Oklahoma Supreme Court candidates," June 3, 2021
- ↑ Oklahoma Public Research System, "Section VII-B-4: Vacancy in Judicial Office - Filling," accessed June 7, 2021
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Oklahoma," accessed June 7, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, "Justice Tom Colbert, District No. 6," accessed June 7, 2021
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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
| |||||||
