Curtis Shelton, a Policy Research Fellow at the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs, explained how Oklahoma selects its Supreme Court justices, and the potential flaws in the system.The Rotary Club of Chickasha met September 26, 2024. Rotarian Mitch Williams led the club in singing "Don't Send Those Kids to Sunday School".
Announcements
- Leadership Chickasha will be attending our meeting October 10. Various civic clubs will also be visiting and will briefly present for the benefit of LC participants.
- A member is needed to give a brief, 3–5 minute presentation on World Polio Day. Please contact Lewis Knisley if you are able to help.
- The Norman Rotary Club has invited us to participate in their Rotary Road Rally event.
Program
The Rotarian of the Day was John Holt. His speaker was Curtis Shelton. Shelton is a Policy Research Fellow at the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs. He has been involved with OCPA since 2017.
The focus of Shelton's presentation was the Oklahoma Supreme Court nomination process and reform. The members of the state's highest court are selected by a nominating committee of 15 people. Of this committee, six are chosen by the Oklahoma Bar Association, six by the governor, one each by the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and one is selected at-large. Shelton described the selection process as "shrouded in mystery", citing the lack of public accountability built into it.
Further, the current court seldom writes opinions on the cases it hears, which makes it difficult to understand why justices voted a certain way on a given case. Lawyers and analysts cannot glean any information as to what specific issues are present in a piece of legislation that is struck down, rendering them unable to remedy those problems.
Shelton stated that the OCPA has been pushing for reform in the judicial selection process. Specifically, they have advocated for a process modeled after the federal nomination process, with the legislature having the majority of control over selections. OCPA also publishes a judicial "scorecard" that grades sitting justices based on their policy decisions.
Asked about retention votes, Shelton confirmed that the public does vote to retain justices every two years. Three of the nine justices are voted on at a time, for a six-year cycle. However, the lack of transparency and the structure of the voting process have resulted in very few justices being removed by public vote.
Lunch was provided by Chicken Express.