The 1965 Oklahoma Supreme Court scandal was a
political scandal
In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, uneth ...
in the U.S. state of
Oklahoma involving
judicial misconduct on the
Oklahoma Supreme Court. Justice
N. S. Corn
N. S. Corn, also known as Nelson S. Corn or Nelson Smith Corn, (1884–1967) was a justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court who was one of the central figures of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Scandal that occurred during the mid-1960s. He was accused ...
was convicted in 1964 on federal tax evasion charges. After his conviction, he implicated himself,
Samuel Earl Welch
Samuel Earl Welch (January 27, 1892 – November 12, 1969), more commonly written as Earl Welch was a native of Indian Territory, born in 1892, near the present town of Wister, Oklahoma in the present LeFlore County, Oklahoma
LeFlore County ...
, and
Napoleon Bonaparte Johnson in accepting
bribes to decide cases.
Corn had resigned after his conviction and Justice Welch resigned after impeach preceding began in the
Oklahoma House of Representatives. Justice Johnson refused to resign and became the first Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice impeached and removed from office.
Background
In 1964
Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice
N. S. Corn
N. S. Corn, also known as Nelson S. Corn or Nelson Smith Corn, (1884–1967) was a justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court who was one of the central figures of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Scandal that occurred during the mid-1960s. He was accused ...
was convicted for filing false federal income tax returns. After his conviction, Corn admitted to accepting
bribes between 1938 and 1959 in return for his vote on the court and implicated fellow justices
Samuel Earl Welch
Samuel Earl Welch (January 27, 1892 – November 12, 1969), more commonly written as Earl Welch was a native of Indian Territory, born in 1892, near the present town of Wister, Oklahoma in the present LeFlore County, Oklahoma
LeFlore County ...
and
Napoleon Bonaparte Johnson in also accepting bribes.
After Corn made his sworn statements implicating the other still-sitting justices, United States District Judge
Stephen Sanders Chandler Jr. passed a copy along to Justice
William A. Berry.
Berry was worried about being sued for
libel if he released the allegations publicly, so he planned to pass the statement on to a member of the
Oklahoma Legislature
The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...
since legislators had
legislative immunity
Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians such as president, vice president, governor, lieutenant governor, member of parliament, member of legislative assembly, member of legislative council, ...
to libel charges when speaking in a session of the legislature. Berry eventually decided to give the statement to Representative
G. T. Blankenship
G. T. Blankenship (born March 11, 1928) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from Oklahoma. A former member and minority leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, he initiated the investigation of corruption on the Oklahoma ...
.
Investigation
On January 21, 1965, state Representative
G. T. Blankenship
G. T. Blankenship (born March 11, 1928) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from Oklahoma. A former member and minority leader of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, he initiated the investigation of corruption on the Oklahoma ...
read a summary of a sworn statement from
N. S. Corn
N. S. Corn, also known as Nelson S. Corn or Nelson Smith Corn, (1884–1967) was a justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court who was one of the central figures of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Scandal that occurred during the mid-1960s. He was accused ...
to the
Oklahoma House of Representatives describing how Corn,
Samuel Earl Welch
Samuel Earl Welch (January 27, 1892 – November 12, 1969), more commonly written as Earl Welch was a native of Indian Territory, born in 1892, near the present town of Wister, Oklahoma in the present LeFlore County, Oklahoma
LeFlore County ...
, and
Napoleon Bonaparte Johnson had all accepted bribes to decide cases pending before the court. An investigative committee of the
Oklahoma Bar Association
The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.
History
The Oklahoma Territory Bar Association and the Indian Territory Bar Association merged in 1904 to form the Oklahoma Bar A ...
recommended charges be filed against Welch and Johnson.
Charges, impeachment, and investigations
A federal grand jury indicted Corn, Welch, Johnson, and former
Mayor of Oklahoma City
The following persons have held the office of mayor of Oklahoma City. Mayors of Oklahoma City are elected to four year terms.
List of mayors
Provisional mayors following land run
Elected mayors following Oklahoma City's incorporation
^C ...
O. A. Cargill. Cargill was eventually convicted of perjury. On March 18, 1965, the Oklahoma House began impeachment proceedings against Welch and Johnson, with Welch immediately resigning. Johnson refused to resign and later became the first impeached and removed justice of the
Oklahoma Supreme Court.
State Senator
Roy Granthan was the prosecutor for the
Oklahoma Senate trial of Justice Johnson.
N. S. Corn
N. S. Corn, also known as Nelson S. Corn or Nelson Smith Corn, (1884–1967) was a justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court who was one of the central figures of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Scandal that occurred during the mid-1960s. He was accused ...
testified that he accepted a bribe and shared it with Johnson, while Johnson took the stand in his defense and denied the allegations. He was ultimately convicted in the Senate by one vote.
Aftermath
While initially
Speaker of the Oklahoma House J. D. McCarty opposed
judicial reform Judicial reform is the complete or partial political reform of a country's judiciary. Judicial reform is often done as a part of wider reform of the country's political system or a legal reform.Peter Barenboim, Natalya Merkulova.The 25th Anniversary ...
, he was later convicted of income tax evasion, allowing Governor
Dewey Bartlett
Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. (March 28, 1919 – March 1, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Cat ...
to push through reforms. On May 3, 1966, voters approved the creation of the
Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary {{OKGovernment
The Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary is one of the two independent courts in the Oklahoma judiciary and has exclusive jurisdiction in adjudicating discipline and hearing cases involving the removal of a judge from office, excluding the ...
. On July 11, 1967, voters approved two state questions to abolish justices of the peace, the county court system, and special courts (replacing them with district courts) and replaced Oklahoma's system of judicial elections with the
Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission for selecting judges.
References
{{reflist
1965 in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Supreme Court
Political scandals in Oklahoma