OCPAC - Correcting the Court
John Michener
1. Potential Big Year for Reform
2. “REDUCE the State Budget”
3. Correcting the Courts
4. Program Jan. 13: Paul Conrady, Crimeseen.com
5. Only Three Weeks to the Banquet
1. Potential Big Year for Reform
We are just three weeks away from convening the Oklahoma Legislature. Exciting opportunities lie before us. With the $900 million budget shortfall, perhaps we can finally get rid of improper functions of government, such as funding television and the arts. Perhaps we can get rid of immoral programs like the Quality Jobs Act which gives money away to favored corporate donors.
Conservative legislators are poised to protect the people this session. Bills to protect innocent unborn children from medical slaughter will be submitted. Senator Kyle Loveless (R-OKC) is championing a bill to protect private property from unjust seizure. Senator Frank Simpson (R-Springer) has proposed that we allow National Guard soldiers to carry weapons to defend themselves when on duty. Maybe someone will propose that we even allow every citizen to constitutionally carry and defend himself on public campuses and anywhere in the state. The people have had enough, and our legislators are getting the message.
2. “REDUCE the State Budget”
The Oklahoma Chapters of the John Birch Society are hosting a meeting titled, “REDUCE the State Budget” on Thursday night, January 14, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Denny’s in Edmond (1100 E. 2nd St.). Representative Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) has agreed to give a presentation on how to read and understand the Oklahoma state budget.
3. Correcting the Court
Arguably the most important goal that conservatives wish to reach this session is regaining control of Oklahoma courts. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is one of the most liberal in the land. They have overturned every pro-life bill ever passed. They have redefined the plain language of the Oklahoma Constitution so that the legislature can borrow money without a vote of the people. By the same process, they have removed Universal Moral Law as the foundation of Oklahoma civil law and replaced it with Secular Humanism, where Collectivism is morally just and arbitrary ends justify any political means.
In stark contrast to our own court, last week Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an Administrative Order directing probate judges not to issue any marriage licenses contrary to the Alabama Constitution or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act. The order states that Alabama law remains in full force and effect. You can read the order here and a story here. When the people elect their judges, as they do in Alabama, they can choose someone like Justice Roy Moore who is willing to uphold the Rule of Law and stand against the immoral and unconstitutional opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Our Oklahoma Supreme Court would never take such a stand. They are accountable to no one. This must change.
Three key reforms are needed. First, judges need to be elected by the people or appointed by an accountable, elected official, such as the Governor. Second, judges, like other elected officials, need to have term limits. Representative Jason Murphey announced last week that he would propose term limits for judges. Third, judges’ salaries need to be controlled by the legislature. Right now judges’ salaries are set by an unaccountable commission, and by the way, the salaries of other statewide office holders are tied to those judicial salaries. No more hiding behind a commission. The representatives of the people need to take control of court purse strings.
Last Wednesday Representative Kevin Calvey presented his plan for judicial reform. Download HJR 1037 here. This bill would allow the people to vote to change the Oklahoma Constitution so that judges would be elected by the people, rather than be selected by unaccountable liberal lawyers.
The basic direction of the bill is good. We do want to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to make judges subject to election or direct appointment. However, the current language of the bill may have some unintentional problems. First, HJR 1037 sets the number of Supreme Court judges at nine. What if we do not want nine? Currently, the Legislature has the ability to shrink or grow the court. That is a good check to have and to keep. Similarly, HJR 1037 sets the number of judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals at nine. Currently that number is only five. Four new judges would need four new offices. They would need court rooms, clerks, and support staff. This one little change could cost the tax payers millions of dollars. Finally, the bill mentions the “twelve Judges of the Court of Civil Appeals,” a number and court not mentioned in the Oklahoma Constitution. By including this court, the resolution may be guilty of “log rolling,” in which case, the self-interested Supreme Court would make sure the measure never reached the ballot. Representative Calvey is a sharp lawyer. He will certainly tighten the language of this bill in committee to make it a solid reform. Once he does, we will likely be able to support it without hesitation.
The bottom line is that we need to simply subject judges to elections or direct appointment, set term limits, and give the Legislature full control of the size and funding of the courts. In this way we can select good judges like Roy Moore to our highest bench and help less principled judges to stay within the bounds of natural law and proper civil law.
4. Program Jan. 13: Paul Conrady, Crimeseen.com
Our speaker this Wednesday at noon at Mama Roja will be Paul Conrady, the founder of Crimeseen.com, the crime-solving social network. Paul operated Edmond Security for thirty-two years, and he has developed a way to help victims of crime by using the power of the internet and by crowd-sourcing neighbors’ security assets to solve crime. The Conrady family is now sharing this concept with industry and consumers, providing a free tool to help communities fight crime.
5. Only Three Weeks to the Banquet
Matt Trewhella will be the keynote speaker at OCPAC’s annual Legislative Awards Banquet on Friday, February 5, 2016, at 6:30 PM. This event will be a semi-formal, catered dinner at the Metro Tech Business Conference Center. In addition to the keynote speaker and legislative awards presentations, the dinner will feature a tribute to Charlie Meadows and his twenty-four years of grassroots political activism.
Tickets are $24 per person. We are only three weeks away from the banquet, so please reserve your tickets here as soon as possible, and pay for tickets here. You may also bring cash or check to one of our meetings, or mail a check to PO Box 2021, Edmond, OK 73083.
The views expressed in this email are the personal opinion of John Michener and do not necessarily reflect the views of OCPAC, its leadership team, or its members. We currently meet on Wednesdays at noon at Mama Roja Mexican Kitchen, 9219 Lake Hefner Pkwy, OKC. To become a member of OCPAC, follow the instructions in the online newsletter.