The Oklahoma Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case filed by Enid attorney Stephen Jones challenging the special election called to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.

Jones, best known for representing Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVey, filed a lawsuit earlier this month arguing that an election could not lawfully be held until Inhofe has actually vacated the office.

Inhofe announced last month that he will retire from office effective Jan. 3, the day his replacement would be seated after a special election held concurrently with the November general election.

Because his announcement was made by March 1, a state law was triggered allowing for a special election to be called in lieu of the governor appointing a replacement to serve the final four years of Inhofe’s term.

In his lawsuit, Jones argues that the action violates the terms of the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which provides, “when vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.” ment does not permit a special election to fill Senator Inhofe’s seat until after he vacates his Senate seat, which is not expected to occur until January 3, 2023 at the earliest,” Jones wrote in his brief to the Supreme Court.

His lawsuit, filed against State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax, seeks to halt candidate filing for Inhofe’s seat before it begins next month and bar ballots from being printed for the primary election in June and general election in November.

Andrew Spiropoulos, the Robert S. Kerr, Sr. Professor of Constitutional Law at Oklahoma City University’s School of Law, told the Times & Free Press last week that he does not expect the Supreme Court to side with Jones.

“Jones has a plausible argument that the text of the 17 ^th Amendment requires an actual vacancy before a governor can schedule an election, but this sentence is immediately qualified by the following one empowering the state legislature to direct both the grant of temporary appointments and the permanent filling of vacancies through an election,” Spiropoulus said.

“Given the historic role of state legislators in choosing senators and the current pro-federalism bent of the U.S. Supreme Court, the best bet is that the courts will defer to the legislature’s judgment.”

The Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the courtroom on the second floor of the State Capitol. A link to a live feed will be available on the Oklahoma State Court Network website.