{{Update, inaccurate=yes, date=May 2021 The Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission is the

judicial nominating commission A judicial nominating commission (also judicial nominating committee, judicial nominating board) in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments. Ju ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. It selects potential justices and judges for

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...

appointments for

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

s for

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

History

At the adoption of the

Oklahoma Constitution The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th U.S. state. At its ratification, the Oklaho ...

in 1907, the Governors had the power to appoint, with

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

approval, anyone they wanted to any position within the judicial system that required gubernatorial appointment. This power extended to District Judges, Judges of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, as well Justices of the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

. However, during the 1960s, a growing desire to restrain the Governor's executive power allowed for the adoption of a new method of selecting the judges and justices of the state's highest courts. On July 11, 1967, the Oklahoma Constitution was amended by State Question 447. 447 added Article 7B to the Constitution and created the Judicial Nominating Commission, originally consisting of 13 members. State Question 752 (adopted by the voters on November 2, 2010) amended the article by adding two additional members.

Powers

The new method mandated by Article 7B states that in the event of a vacancy, for whatever reason, within the

, the

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government.

, or the

Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals is an intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma. Cases are assigned to it by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the state's highest court for civil matters.

, the Commission screens a list of applicants that desire that job. Next, the Commission selected three qualified nominees and presents the names to the Governor. The Governor may then appoint one of the nominees to position with further approval not necessary. If the Governor fails to appoint a nominee to the position within sixty days, the Chief Justice of Oklahoma may make the selection. The Commission's power only extends to Oklahoma's appellate courts. It can not influence the other judicial candidates. However, should there be an unexpected vacancy within the District Courts, the Commission may provide the same service as it does for the higher courts. The majority of Commission is "sufficient to decide any question", unless otherwise specified by the Constitution. The Commission has jurisdiction to determine whether the qualifications of nominees to hold a judicial position have been met and to determine the existence of vacancies on the Commission.

Membership

The commission currently consists of 13 members: six appointed by the governor, six selected by 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 Ass ...

, and the thirteenth selected at large by the other twelve. Of the six gubernatorial appointees, each one must come from a different Congressional District (as those districts existed in Oklahoma in 1967) and none are allowed to be a licensed attorney in Oklahoma. The 13th member is selected by an eight-member majority, must not be a licensed attorney in Oklahoma or any state, but must be a resident of Oklahoma. In the event that the commission can not reach a majority within thirty days, the governor may select the at-large member. State Question 752 amended the Commission by adding two more at-large members. One member will be appointed by the

Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Oklahoma Legislature, the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The speaker exercises administrative and procedural functions, but remains a rep ...

while the other will be appointed by the

President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate The President ''pro tempore'' of the Oklahoma Senate is the second-highest-ranking official of the Oklahoma Senate and the highest-ranking state senator. The Oklahoma Constitution designates the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma as the highest-ran ...

. The members may come from anywhere in Oklahoma and cannot be licensed attorneys. Each member serves a staggered six-year term. No person is eligible to immediately succeed themselves.

Chairmanship

The Chairman of the Commission is selected by its own members to serve for a one-year term.

Restrictions

Of the members selected by the governor, no more than three may belong to the same political party. All commissioners serve without pay, but are compensated for travel expenses. No commissioner, while a member of the commission, is allowed to hold any other public office by election or appointment. They may not serve as any official within a political party and are not eligible for nomination to a judicial position by the Commission. This restriction applies as long as the commissioner is a part of the commission and for five years after their term is over.

External links

Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission website

Judicial Nominating Commission A judicial nominating commission (also judicial nominating committee, judicial nominating board) in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments. Ju ...