Oklahoma Supreme Court Violates Constitution

  Oklahoma has more than her share of corruption. The legacy of executive, legislative, and various county & municipal scandals are more shameful than we want to face up to.

The constitutional impact of the ruling

But the power-grab of this present supreme court is becoming very dangerous.  They were asked to rule on a constitutional issue of eligibility in a district attorneys race. The current abigious language of our poorly-written constitution seems to say that only one of the current candidates can lawfully be elected. When a legislature hikes the pay of an office, none of those legislative members can be elected to that office until their current term runs out (in this case, Nov. 19th).

  The candidate who's eligibility is being challenged, Fred Jordan; put together a legal team to make the argument that the real election doesn't happen on election day. Not the primary election, not the run-off, or even the general election day. And attorney Terry Simonson actually has some precedence for this untenable position. Some 70+ years ago  the Oklahoma Supreme Court said that the election really doesn't happen until the new legislature convenes in January (at least in a governor's election).

  Well, this current supreme court ignored both the language of the constitution as argued by the petitioners, and the arguments of the respondents, including Terry Simonson's notion and the previous court's precedence.

  Instead, they embarked upon a de-facto rewriting of the Oklahoma Constitution so as to make new restrictions which they believe is less ambiguous and more workable.

the current Oklahoma Supreme Court jurists

The major problem with that is, They do not have the power to re-write the constitution. That power is reserved to the PEOPLE.

  The Oklahoma constitution is a hodge-podge of over 150 amendments and so much ambiguity that we keep creating messes which require court rulings.

  The people of this state need a better-written constitution. But the people need to vote on the language and not leave it up to legislatures, courts, executive orders, or lawless mobs.

  The current court has demonstrated a basic lack of respect for the powers invested in the people. They wrote a new constitution and forced it upon us. It's supposed to be the other way around!

Justice Taylor
dissents ruling

  Judge Steven Taylor should be applauded for his dissent opinion that the Court “refused to properly construe” the Constitution in this matter. He found that the Court misconstrues the term “elected” to mean “assuming or taking office.”

  ”There appears to be a disconnect between the Court’s decision and the plain language” of the Constitution", Taylor wrote. “For Tulsa County, the Republican primary runoff will be held on August 26, 2014. No Democrat has filed for the seat. The winner of this runoff will receive a certificate of election, which will be issued…on August 29, 2014…Therefore, under Oklahoma election law, the certified winner of the primary runoff will be deemed elected to the position of Tulsa County district attorney.”

David Van Risseghem