With an open Oklahoma Supreme Court seat scheduled to be filled this year, Oklahomans deserve to know about the judicial philosophy of any potential appointee. 

One clue to an applicant’s philosophy can be found in their political contributions to candidates—and several applicants for the Oklahoma Supreme Court have a history of donating to Democrats, either directly or indirectly.

Unfortunately, our judicial appointment process is shrouded in secrecy.

Under Oklahoma’s current system, the 15-member Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) selects up to three nominees for court positions in secret. The group does not hold public meetings, does not interview candidates in public, and does not provide any public records of its votes. The governor is required to select one of the three candidates put forward by the JNC and cannot consider any other qualified individuals.

However, we are provided the names of those who apply for an open position, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court seat has drawn 14 applicants. One hint of the judicial philosophy of those applicants can be culled, in part, from the politicians those applicants have financially supported.

Public records indicate five applicants have financially supported either Democratic candidates’ campaigns or contributed to political action committees (PACs) that supported Democrats.

Why does this matter? Because people don’t give money to politicians who pursue policies that the donor believes to be unconstitutional.

One applicant made contributions to Citizens for Justice (in 2016, 2018, and 2022), a trial-lawyers’ PAC that funded a wide range of legislative candidates’ campaigns, including many Democrats, according to Oklahoma Ethics Commission records.

Once again, it’s reasonable to assume you don’t donate money to a PAC that supports candidates you believe are promoting illegal, unconstitutional, or otherwise problematic policies.

Citizens for Justice contributed to the campaigns of state Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa; state Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Oklahoma City; state Rep. Ellyn Hefner, D-Oklahoma City; state Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman; state Rep. Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City; state Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa; state Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman; state Rep. Susanne Schrieber, D-Tulsa; state Sen. Mary Boren, D-Tulsa; state Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City; and state Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City. 

Among that list are politicians who have opposed legislation that prohibited males from competing in female sports as “transgender women,” opposed school choice, opposed tax reductions, opposed lawsuit restrictions, and so on.

Ideally, each judicial applicant would answer questions about their political activity and judicial philosophy in public, but Oklahoma’s system does not provide that level of transparency. That means Oklahomans have to judge candidates for themselves based on an applicant’s history of campaign donations and decide whether those donations indicate that someone should not be placed on the bench in a position where they can effectively usurp the democratic process and impose their policy preferences by judicial fiat.

Oklahomans should keep a close eye on the JNC in the weeks ahead. If the group nominates Democratic campaign donors for the state’s highest court, Oklahoma voters will be justified in concluding that the JNC’s membership is trying to install judicial liberals on the bench.