OKLAHOMA NEEDS A JUDICIAL-SELECTION PLAN FOR THE PEOPLE (NOT THE LAWYERS)

Oklahoma uses a system designed by lawyers to choose our most important judges. No wonder those judges often do what lawyers want (even if that’s not what the people of Oklahoma want), such as allowing mask mandates, striking down pro-life laws, encouraging jackpot justice, and demanding the removal of the Ten Commandments from our state Capitol grounds. The current judicial selection system is best described as of, by, and for lawyers. We need to replace it with a system that provides transparency and accountability—a way of choosing judges that serves the people, not just the lawyers. Fortunately, we need to look no further than to the Framers of the U.S. Constitution. It’s time for Oklahoma to move to the James Madison model of judicial selection (Governor appoints, Legislature confirms)—the very system Donald Trump used to transform the U.S. Supreme Court.