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SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB1088 SFLR Page 1
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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
March 4, 2025
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 1088 By: Prieto
An Act relating to courts; amending 20 O.S. 2021,
Sections 1651, 1656, 1658, and 1659, which relate to
the Council on Judicial Complaints; modifying certain
statement of public policy; removing quarterly
reporting requirement; authorizing Council to employ
attorney; modifying certain penalty; authorizing
filing of certain petition; requiring notice to
certain parties of certain complaints; requiring
Council to forward certain information to Supreme
Court; clarifying manner to conduct certain
proceedings; updating statutory references; updating
statutory language; providing for confidentiality of
certain records; requiring maintenance of certain
complaint docket; specifying information to be
included on docket; requiring publication of certain
docket; providing certain confidentiality exceptions;
requiring annual report to certain officials by
certain date; requiring publication of report on
website; prohibiting inclusion of certain identifying
information; providing exceptions; specifying
contents of report; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 20 O.S. 2021, Section 1651, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1651. It is hereby declared to be the public policy of
this state:
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1. To afford a means for efficiently and impartially
investigating complaints by any person concerning the conduct of
persons occupying positions subject to the jurisdiction of the Court
on the Judiciary;
2. To provide an agency which can determine whether such
complaints should:
a. be made the subject of action before the Court on the
Judiciary for the purpose of removal, reprimand, or
admonition, or compulsory retirement,
b. be made the subject of action before the Supreme Court
for the purpose of imposing discipline other than
removal or compulsory retirement,
c. be dismissed with a letter of caution or warning,
d. be forwarded to the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation to investigate allegations of wrongdoing
under the laws of this state, or
e. be dismissed;
3. To provide means for procuring necessary information to
enable the agency to perform its functions, including the power to
issue and enforce subpoenas to testify or to produce tangible
evidentiary materials; and
4. To better the administration of justice in this state
through the means enumerated in Sections 1651 through 1662 1663 of
this title.
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SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 20 O.S. 2021, Section 1656, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1656. A. The members of the Council on Judicial
Complaints shall qualify by taking the constitutional oath of
office.
B. The Council shall elect a chair and vice-chair vice chair.
The chair and vice-chair vice chair shall serve for terms of office
set by the Council, not to exceed their terms as members of the
Council.
C. The Council shall adopt rules pursuant to the Administrative
Procedures Act.
D. The Council shall provide to the President Pro Tempore of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives quarterly
reports of the number of judicial complaints filed, dismissed, and
referred for further disciplinary action.
SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 20 O.S. 2021, Section 1658, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1658. A. The Council on Judicial Complaints shall
promptly investigate all complaints received by it, and shall
determine the proper disposition thereof, as provided in Sections
1651 through 1661 1663 of this title.
B. The Council shall have power to hold hearings, administer
oaths or affirmations, receive testimony and other evidence, and
issue and serve or cause to be served subpoenas requiring testimony
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or the production of books, records, papers or other tangible
evidence.
C. 1. Subject to funding limitations provided by law, the
Council, as needed, may retain, by contract, a court reporter and,
as needed, may employ or retain an attorney by contract with either
the Office of the Attorney General or other counsel.
2. No person acting as counsel to the Council on Judicial
Complaints shall be eligible for election or appointment to the
Judicial Nominating Commission during the term of his or her
employment or contract for services.
D. The Council is hereby authorized to require in aid of its
investigatory functions the services of the Oklahoma State Bureau of
Investigation as provided for in Section 150.34 of Title 74 of the
Oklahoma Statutes or of any governmentally supported investigatory
agency or, upon authorization of the Board of Governors of the
Oklahoma Bar Association, of the services of the Oklahoma Bar
Association.
E. In the event of contemptuous refusal to obey its lawful
orders, the Council may take steps necessary to maintain order in
its session; as to contempts not affecting the maintenance of order,
it shall certify the matter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, which shall assign the case for trial and appropriate
disposition to a judge of a district court. In a contempt
proceeding in district court, the counsel for the Council on
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Judicial Complaints shall act as prosecutor against the alleged
contemnor.
F. 1. All proceedings under this section shall be held in
secrecy to the same extent as proceedings before a grand jury.
2. A complainant or a witness appearing before the Council who
reveals or causes to be revealed to the public any information about
a proposed or pending judicial complaint shall be subject to a fine
not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) contempt proceedings
before the district court upon certification of the matter to the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Council on Judicial
Complaints shall promulgate rules pursuant to the Administrative
Procedures Act governing proceedings under this subsection.
3. In addition to the fine provided for in paragraph 2 of this
subsection, any Any judicial officer who reveals or causes to be
revealed any information about a proposed or pending judicial
complaint shall be subject to public reprimand by the Court on the
Judiciary.
SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 20 O.S. 2021, Section 1659, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1659. A. In the event the Council on Judicial
Complaints finds that the complaint should be made the subject of
proceedings before the Court on the Judiciary, it shall forward:
1. Forward all papers concerning the same complaint, together
with its findings, to either the Supreme Court or the Chief Justice
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thereof, the Governor, the Attorney General, the Executive Secretary
of the Oklahoma Bar Association, or the House of Representatives,
who shall promptly may file a petition invoking the jurisdiction of
the trial division of the Court on the Judiciary in accordance with
subsection (a) of Section 4 of Article 7-A VII-A of the Oklahoma
Constitution of Oklahoma; provided, however, filing by the Executive
Secretary of the Oklahoma Bar Association shall be at the direction
of the majority of the members of the Executive Council or by
resolution of the House of Delegates of the Oklahoma Bar
Association; and
2. Provide notice of its findings, conclusions, and
recommendations that the complaint should be the subject of
proceedings before the Court on the Judiciary to the Secretary of
State and to those individuals or bodies with authority to invoke
the jurisdiction of the Court on the Judiciary, as described in
Section 4 of Article VII-A of the Oklahoma Constitution.
Thereafter, the matter shall proceed in accordance with the
applicable constitutional provisions, statutes, and rules of the
Court on the Judiciary.
B. In the event the Council on Judicial Complaints finds that
the complaint should be made the subject of proceedings before the
Supreme Court for discipline less than removal or compulsory
retirement, the Council shall forward all papers concerning the
complaint, together with its findings, to the Supreme Court for
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review and possible discipline. The matter shall proceed in
accordance with the Rules Governing Complaints on Judicial
Misconduct, Appendix 4-A of Title 5 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1664 of Title 20, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. All records of the Council on Judicial Complaints relating
to judicial complaints and the investigation and disposition thereof
shall be kept confidential and not open to public inspection;
provided, however:
1. The Administrative Director to the Council on Judicial
Complaints shall maintain a docket of all complaints filed for which
a final disposition has been made by the Council on Judicial
Complaints by majority vote. The docket shall be a permanent and
searchable record and shall be made available on the Council’s
website within thirty (30) days of the final disposition of a
complaint. The docket shall detail an identification number, the
nature of litigation giving rise to the complaint, the primary
subject of the complaint, and the legal basis for the final
disposition of the complaint. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, the docket shall not contain any identifying information
relative to the complainant or respondent judge; and
2. In the event the Council’s final disposition of a complaint
results in submission of findings pursuant to Section 1659 of Title
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20 of the Oklahoma Statutes with a recommendation that is not a
private reprimand, the docket shall include the identity of the
respondent judge, a brief summary of the alleged misconduct, and the
Council’s recommendation.
B. 1. Not later than February 28 of each year, the Council
shall submit to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker
of the House of Representatives, the Governor, the Lieutenant
Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court an electronic report for the preceding calendar year
ending December 31. The report shall be posted on the Council’s
public website in a searchable format. Other than the information
included in the report pursuant to divisions 5 and 6 of subparagraph
b of paragraph 2 of this subsection, the report shall not include
any identifying information relative to the complainant or the
respondent judge.
2. The report shall include:
a. an explanation of the role of the Council, and
b. annual statistical information for the preceding
calendar year including:
(1) the number of complaints received by the Council,
the nature of the litigation giving rise to the
complaints, and the primary subject of the
complaints,
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(2) the number of complaints dismissed, the legal
basis for the dismissal, and the number of
complaints that remain pending,
(3) a list of complaints dismissed with a letter of
caution or warning to the judge and brief summary
of the alleged misconduct,
(4) a list of complaints referred to the Supreme
Court pursuant to Section 1659 of Title 20 of the
Oklahoma Statutes with a recommendation of a
private reprimand and a brief summary of the
alleged misconduct,
(5) a list of complaints referred to the Supreme
Court pursuant to Section 1659 of Title 20 of the
Oklahoma Statutes with a recommendation other
than a private reprimand, the identity of the
respondent judge, a brief summary of the alleged
misconduct, and the Council’s recommendation,
(6) a list of complaints referred to any of the
bodies or officials enumerated in Article VII-A
of the Oklahoma Constitution with a
recommendation of removal proceedings or
compulsory retirement proceedings before the
Court on the Judiciary, the identity of the
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respondent judge, a brief summary of the alleged
misconduct, and the Council’s recommendation,
(7) the number of complaints for which a response was
sought from the judge that ultimately resulted in
a dismissal,
(8) an explanation of the Council’s processes, and
(9) any additional public information deemed relevant
by the Council for inclusion in the annual
report.
SECTION 6. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
March 4, 2025 - DO PASS AS AMENDED BY CS