Ray Carter, Heart for Impartial Journalism
Gov. Kevin Stitt has appointed a former Trump judicial nominee, longtime Tulsa legal professional John O’Connor, to function the legal professional basic of Oklahoma.
O’Connor mentioned he would work “with our governor and Legislature to deliver sincere, excellent governance to Oklahomans” and expressed a willingness to struggle in courtroom to reverse some high-profile U.S. Supreme Courtroom rulings in circumstances starting from Oklahoma tribal reservations to abortion.
Particularly, O’Connor mentioned he’ll search to have the U.S. Supreme Courtroom ruling in ‘McGirt v. Oklahoma’ overturned or restricted.
“This can be a crucial case the place the U.S. Supreme Courtroom, in my view, has both made a really critical error or not less than has written an opinion in a manner that may be construed — I believe unintentionally — in a really broad manner,” O’Connor mentioned.
“The case was alleged to be restricted to main federal crimes and felony prosecution. It’s being utilized by varied teams to increase that into civil actions, akin to whether or not the state has the authority to levy taxes.”
In ‘McGirt v. Oklahoma’, the U.S. Supreme Courtroom held that the Muscogee Nation’s reservation was by no means disestablished. Whereas the ruling utilized solely to Muscogee land and questions of felony prosecution underneath the federal Main Crimes Act, its precedent and foundation may end in software to quite a few different points, akin to taxation and regulation, and different courts have since utilized it to the reservations of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole nations. The impacted areas embrace most of japanese Oklahoma and are house to 1.8 million individuals.
“If the query is will we oppose ‘McGirt’, the reply is sure,” O’Connor mentioned. “If the query is will we search the overturning by the Supreme Courtroom of ‘McGirt’, the reply is sure. Will we attempt to work with the tribes? Completely. I’ve excessive regard for the tribes.”
When requested if he would assist a problem to ‘Roe v. Wade’, the 1973 ruling that made abortion a constitutional proper, O’Connor answered within the affirmative.
“If a ‘Roe v. Wade’ case makes its solution to america Supreme Courtroom, then completely, I’ll need to file an amicus transient in that matter,” O’Connor mentioned. “I believe that we’ll pay the value for abortion as a nation. Typically the Supreme Courtroom will get it unsuitable. Everyone knows that. There are circumstances the place they’ve held that individuals have been lower than human, or that their votes have been lower than a full vote. The Supreme Courtroom is normally proper, however typically even they make a mistake.”
O’Connor replaces Mike Hunter, who resigned mid-term. O’Connor mentioned he’ll search election to the place when it goes earlier than voters subsequent yr.
In appointing O’Connor as state legal professional basic, Stitt mentioned he discovered somebody with each in depth authorized experience and a fame for integrity.
“To grow to be a high 10 state, now we have to have all types of authorities clicking on all cylinders,” Stitt mentioned.
“That’s why it was so vital to me to search out somebody who was extremely competent within the legislation, however extra importantly I used to be searching for somebody with excessive ethical character who will do the fitting issues for the fitting causes and by no means for private acquire. Because the state’s high legislation enforcer, we would have liked somebody prepared to struggle and defend what’s finest for all 4 million Oklahomans.”
O’Connor is an legal professional at Corridor Estill, a Tulsa-based regional full-service legislation agency. He has 40 years of expertise within the subject of legislation, specializing in civil litigation together with complicated industrial and basic civil litigation.
O’Connor has an AV peer assessment score by Martindale-Hubbell and has been acknowledged as an Oklahoma Tremendous Lawyer, one among Oklahoma’s High Rated Attorneys, and a Finest Lawyer in America.
In 2018, President Donald Trump nominated O’Connor to function a United States District Decide for the Northern and Jap Districts of Oklahoma. That nomination was derailed after the American Bar Affiliation (ABA) declared O’Connor “not certified.”
Some officers seized on O’Connor’s ABA score to criticize Stitt’s selection. Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Oklahoma Metropolis, tweeted “The American Bar Affiliation mentioned this particular person was unqualified to function a decide.”
Nonetheless, the ABA assault on O’Connor and different Republican judicial nominees was broadly seen as grounded in political partisanship, not skilled ethics.
U.S. Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and James Lankford, R-Oklahoma Metropolis, each backed O’Connor’s nomination and criticized the ABA.
Particularly, each males famous O’Connor had been constantly given the very best moral and authorized capacity score doable in peer rankings.
“It’s not solely disappointing that the ABA has given John O’Connor a poor assessment, however it’s unfair that John was not allowed to reply to their criticism,” Lankford mentioned on the time. “For a authorized establishment just like the ABA to disclaim due course of is hypocritical. In additional than 35 years of authorized follow, John has vital diversification of strong authorized expertise in Oklahoma. He’s a extremely certified candidate for this judicial nomination and needs to be given a good analysis by the Judiciary Committee based mostly on the deserves of his work.”
The ABA’s assaults on conservative judicial nominees like O’Connor have drawn sturdy rebukes from conservatives.
In a 2017 speech, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican and legal professional, mentioned the ABA had grow to be a partisan group that works to dam Republican judicial nominees and rubber-stamp Democratic nominees, noting the stark distinction between the ABA’s actions in the course of the Obama administration and the Trump administration.
“Simply cease pretending that the ABA is knowledgeable group on this context,” Cotton mentioned. “No matter else the ABA could do in different contexts, on this context they’re a left-wing, ideological enforcer. They’ve already deemed 4 of the president’s nominees unqualified after eight years of by no means calling a single Obama nominee unqualified. However then once more, why ought to that shock us? They have been all Democrats and these are Republicans. The ABA is a democratically unaccountable special-interest group.”
When the ABA declared Leonard Steven Grasz of Omaha was not certified to function a federal decide, U.S. Sen. Deb Fisher, R-Neb., lambasted the group throughout Grasz’ 2017 nomination listening to.
“After totally analyzing the substance of the ABA’s report, it’s evident to me that the ABA analysis of Mister Grasz was a baseless political character assassination,” Fisher mentioned.
Like O’Connor, Grasz had acquired the very best rankings in peer opinions earlier than the ABA declared him unqualified. Fisher famous the 2 main ABA evaluators who reviewed Grasz’s nomination had acquired quite a few awards from Democratic Social gathering associates or donated hundreds of {dollars} to Democratic political campaigns, and mentioned the criticisms they raised in opposition to Grasz have been considerably based mostly on nameless sources.
“Of their evaluation, the evaluators didn’t cite a single concrete instance of their purported clear, constant sample of criticism levied in opposition to Mister Grasz, and for sure there was no corroboration from different sources,” Fisher mentioned. “The truth is, they didn’t establish precisely what compromised this sample or insinuation of bias.”
Fisher declared the ABA’s analysis to be nothing greater than a “biased, baseless” assault “full of innuendo.”
It seems native officers equally dismiss the ABA’s assaults on O’Connor. A spread of officers issued public endorsements declaring their assist for O’Connor’s appointment as Oklahoma’s legal professional basic.
“I’ve been very lucky to know John for quite a lot of years, and to be legislation companions with him for the final three years,” mentioned James Milton, rapid previous president of Tulsa County Bar. “He is an effective particular person, a person of religion, and an incredible lawyer. Our state will likely be properly served with John’s appointment as legal professional basic.”
“For me it is very important have an individual in that place who has excessive ethical values and integrity. Mr. O’Connor, as Oklahoma’s chief prosecutor, has these qualities in spades,” mentioned Tulsa County District Legal professional Steve Kunzweiler. “I do know him to be fair-minded, hardworking, and exceptionally competent as an legal professional. For this subsequent chapter in his life he’ll lead a superb and hardworking workers with a skillset properly fitted to the safety of the residents of the State of Oklahoma.”
“Good authorities requires good management, and the standard of the legal guidelines that we dwell underneath are drastically decided by the women and men which can be leaders–and John O’Connor is the fitting chief and probably the most certified to steer in such a important function for Oklahoma,” mentioned Barry Goldwater, Jr., a former member of Congress whose namesake father was the 1964 Republican presidential nominee and conservative icon.
O’Connor took the oath of workplace in a quick afternoon ceremony on the Oklahoma Capitol on July 23.
NOTE: This information article first appeared right here. It’s reposted right here with permission.
