Travis Jett
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2025 - Present
2027
0
Travis Jett is a judge for District 4 of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He assumed office on April 14, 2025. His current term ends on January 10, 2027.
Jett first became a member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court through an appointment. Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt first appointed him to the court in 2025 to the seat vacated by Yvonne Kauger.[1] To learn more about this appointment, click here.
Appointments
2025
On April 14, 2025, Governor Kevin Stitt (R) appointed Travis Jett to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to replace Justice Yvonne Kauger, who retired on December 1, 2024.[1] Her retirement came after a November 2024 election in which the justice was not retained. Kauger, receiving 49.8% of the vote in favor of retention, with 50.2% of voters against.[2] Jett is Gov. Stitt's fourth nominee to the nine-member Oklahoma Supreme Court.
In Oklahoma, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
If a justice retires before the end of his or her term, the vacancy is filled just as it normally would be, with the governor appointing a successor from a list of names provided by the nominating commission. If the appointment is not made within 60 days of the vacancy, the chief justice is responsible for selecting a replacement.[3] The appointed justice then must stand for retention in the next general election after he or she has served one year on the bench to serve out the remainder of his or her predecessor's term.[4][5]
State supreme court judicial selection in Oklahoma
- See also: Judicial selection in Oklahoma
The nine justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. Each justice is appointed by the governor from a list of three names compiled by the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission.[4][6]
The appointed justice serves an initial term of at least one year, after which they must stand for retention during the next general election. Subsequent terms last six years.[4][5]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a justice must be:
- at least 30 years old;
- a qualified voter in his or her respective district for at least one year; and
- licensed to practice for at least five years in the state (or have five years of service as a judge of a court of record).[4]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is selected by peer vote, serving in that capacity for two years.[4]
Vacancies
If a justice retires before the end of his or her term, the vacancy is filled just as it normally would be, with the governor appointing a successor from a list of names provided by the nominating commission. If the appointment is not made within 60 days of the vacancy, the chief justice is responsible for selecting a replacement.[3] The appointed justice then must stand for retention in the next general election after he or she has served one year on the bench to serve out the remainder of his or her predecessor's term.[4][5]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oklahoma Governor Kevin J. Stitt, “Governor Stitt Appoints Travis Jett to the Oklahoma Supreme Court" accessed July 1, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "appt" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Oklahoman, "Put out of office by voters, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger has no regrets," December 1, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oklahoma Public Research System, "Section VII-B-4: Vacancy in Judicial Office - Filling," accessed September 22, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Oklahoma," accessed September 22, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Justia, "Section VII-B-5," accessed September 22, 2021
- ↑ Oklahoma State Courts Network, "Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission," accessed September 22, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Yvonne Kauger |
Oklahoma Supreme Court District 4 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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
