Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Judicial Selection Transparency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill to subject Judicial Nominating Commission to open meetings law
Summary
House Bill 11-08 passed the General Government Committee 5-2 after debate about transparency in judicial selection; sponsor said public review would improve accountability for the 15-member commission that vets appellate and district court nominees.
The General Government Committee voted 5-2 to advance House Bill 11-08, which would make the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) subject to Oklahoma’s open meetings law. Representative Lippack (presenting HB 11-08) described the JNC as a 15-member commission whose vetting of appellate and district judge candidates currently occurs behind closed doors and told the committee the bill is intended to increase transparency and public accountability for appointments to the state’s highest courts.
“None of those questions are known other than to the people who make that decision,” the sponsor said, describing the commission’s process, the application materials and interview questions used when vetting candidates. He told members that publication of the process would allow the public and elected officials to see “what it is that JNC is looking for when they are making a recommendation about a candidate.”
Committee members asked whether opening the process to public view would incentivize political theater and discourage qualified candidates. Representative Munson raised concerns that televised confirmation-style proceedings could draw partisan pressure; the sponsor responded that transparency would reveal whether political theater is occurring and said potential applicants indicated privately that they were reluctant to go through the existing closed process a second time.
In closing, the sponsor argued sunshine improves accountability: “If we have judges that can't stand the light of day and can't stand questions ... how are they gonna sit in judgment on the cases that come before them?” he said. The committee voted to advance the bill; the record shows a 5-2 vote with the measure to be reported as passed to the next committee.
The sponsor and members discussed that the JNC is a constitutionally-created entity and that any change to its fundamental structure could require additional constitutional considerations; the bill as presented would only change meeting openness for the commission.
The measure will be reported to the next committee.
