Gov. Kevin Stitt wants sole power to appoint Oklahoma Supreme Court justices
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to wield the power to appoint state Supreme Court justices without involvement of the Judicial Nominating Commission as legislators work to reform the way judges are vetted and selected.
The governor said he believes the federal government's model of selecting U.S. Supreme Court justices is the best, adding that he'd prefer to appoint justices to the state's highest court directly.
"To get the very best and brightest, and to be able to get the best pool of people into these different positions, sometimes you have to go recruit them," Stitt said Wednesday during his weekly news conference. "You have to go make some phone calls. You have to say, 'Hey, I really need you to apply.' And when you have all these restrictions around, it's difficult."
Stitt's comments come after he named Travis Jett, a conservative lawyer with no judicial experience, to fill the open seat on the Oklahoma Supreme Court Monday. The seat became vacant after Stitt and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a right-wing think tank in Oklahoma City, pushed to oust three justices from the state's highest civil court. Jett previously served as a lawyer for OCPA.
Two measures authored by House Speaker Pro Tem Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, seek to reform the nomination process for judges. House Joint Resolution 1024 would send to a vote of the people a state question asking whether to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to establish that at least one member of the Judicial Nominating Commission be from each of the state's five congressional districts at the time of their appointment.
More: Travis Jett named to Oklahoma Supreme Court by Gov. Kevin Stitt
House Bill 2103 would prohibit any Judicial Nominating Commission member from participating in the decision-making process if the member is related to a nominee to the third degree either through ancestry or by marriage.
The governor also addressed several other topics at his news briefing:
Stitt commented on his decision earlier this week to appoint a special investigator to look into the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. He said he believed the recently appointed Commissioner Allie Friesen offers a fresh set of eyes on the agency, but that its contract spending still needed to be examined.
"As soon as you start questioning things, you start saying, 'Hey, this contract doesn't sound right. I want to give the money over here to this vendor. This nonprofit is doing a better job.' These guys start spending," Stitt said. "They can afford to hire lobbyists."
More: Gov. Stitt wants special investigator to look into Oklahoma's mental health agency
Stitt's comments coincide with an announcement earlier this week from House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, who formed a select committee to examine the mental health department's operations and budget. The committee will meet Thursday afternoon. Stitt said he welcomed lawmakers' review.
"I tell people, 'Let's shine a light on some of these dollars,'" Stitt said. "Let's see where all the mice scatter. That's what you're seeing right now. The rats are running, and they're screaming as we thought before."
Stitt also expressed his support for a Senate bill that would prohibit the governor from closing businesses during a pandemic unless they have evidence that the nature of a particular business would contribute to spreading the disease.
Authored by Sen. Julie McIntosh, R-Porter, SB 672 would require the governor to send a notice to each affected business and allow time for a hearing before mandatory shutdowns could occur.
"President Trump, during that initial time, I think the whole country, learned a lot from COVID, and every leader had a difficult decision," Stitt said. "There were leaders of businesses, and there were leaders in athletics and the NFL and NBA. Everybody was dealing with uncertainty during that time."
The governor said in the case of another pandemic, the state would take guidance from health care professionals in Oklahoma. He touted his decision not to enact a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Most people agree that you don't put our U.S. Constitution in the attic just because somebody in Washington, D.C. tells us to," Stitt said.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Gov. Stitt wants sole power to appoint Oklahoma Supreme Court justices
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