Published: November 17, 2006 06:24 pm      

Winds of change blow through Oklahoma County judicial system

EDMOND — Oklahoma County voters mandated significant changes in the judicial system on Nov. 7. The office of Oklahoma County district attorney and the offices of four district judges and the associate district judge were all contested. Typically, incumbent office holders have an advantage, which is usually even more true in the races that are not “top-shelf” such as judicial races.

You, the voting public, removed the incumbent District Attorney Wes Lane, and three of the five incumbent judges. In other words, a majority of the voting public disagreed with the manner or fashion in which two-thirds of the challenged officials were performing their duties.

Additionally, decade-plus incumbent Judge Vickie Robertson of Edmond, narrowly fended off a challenging attorney with no judicial experience, Pat Crawley. But that win was by a much narrower margin than anticipated — a little more than 3,000 votes, or barely more than 51 percent of the ballots cast in that race, which is now subject to a recount challenge by Crawley.

The cacophony of change heard now, however, actually will not be felt until January.

The New Year will bring with it a metamorphic — almost revolutionary — transfer of power in the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

David Prater will take over as the Oklahoma County district attorney. Prater and his wife, Tamara Prater, are both well-known to our community. David Prater was formerly an aggressive assistant in the office he will now lead and knows full well the challenges he faces.

Tamara Prater, formerly a reporter/anchor on News 9, is well respected for her work in the field of journalism. Currently, Tamara works at the National Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism and is also well-known for her charitable work in the community.

The public should anticipate some significant changes in terms of administration. Prater said he “is committed to aggressively addressing the backlog of (more than) 14,000 felony cases” left lingering by his predecessor.

Current DA Lane states he “has made — and will continue to make — all resources fully available to Prater for the effective transfer of office such that the (residents) of Oklahoma County will not experience a decrease in justice during the transition.”

Lane acknowledges that “Prater will face challenges inheriting a large administrative backlog” and stated “an overburdened and underfunded system sometimes creates unavoidable backlogs, just like the overcrowded docket that I inherited from my predecessor, Bob Macy.”

Prater vows to keep his campaign promises of “re-establishing a gang prosecution task force” and “establishing a domestic violence prosecution team.”

Our district attorney-elect stated he “understands the domestic violence cycle and is not afraid to address it in a meaningful manner.” Prater explained that “while granting a victim protection order is helpful, it is a piece of paper and will not stop bullets, knives or fists. Aggressive prosecution is required to protect our community.”

Prater said “meaningful change can only be effected once we are all educated on ‘the domestic violence cycle’ and my office will support that educational process while prosecuting predators to provide victims meaningful protection.”

Four of the five judicial races directly impacted Edmond voters.

A former, long-standing member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Bill Graves, unseated incumbent Judge Susan Caswell, who is currently on a vacation out of state that was planned long before the election.

From her vacation spot, Judge Caswell said she is “disappointed, but remains totally committed to fully administering justice to all Oklahoma County constituents through the end of the year.” Caswell added “it has been her honor to serve Oklahoma County.”

Currently, Caswell presides over a criminal docket exclusively hearing felony cases. That, however, does not mean that Graves will assume the specific criminal docket Caswell will vacate. Rather, docket assignment is done by the presiding judge and is typically based on seniority.

Historically, the domestic docket has been viewed as the least desirable position for a district judge and has been vacated as quickly as possible by most of the district judges assigned to that docket.

Long-standing Oklahoma County Associate District Judge Nan Patton has beaten life-threatening cancer more than once in her life but was defeated at the polls by challenging attorney Richard Kirby. Judge Patton has presided over the Juvenile Division of the Oklahoma County District Court for about 16 years. “While disappointed, it has been my honor and privilege to serve the children and families of Oklahoma County,” she said.

The associate district judge historically has been assigned to the Juvenile Division and presides there supervising three Special District Judges.

Attorney Kenneth Watson ousted incumbent District Judge Malcolm Savage. That race was not voted on by Edmondites because it played out in a specific geographical district within the county — mostly on the northeast side of Oklahoma City — but clearly will have a countywide impact.

Watson has been an attorney for more than 30 years, while Savage had been admitted to the bar just a little more than seven years when he was appointed to that post by Gov. Brad Henry in the summer of 2005 to fill the vacancy left by the passing of Judge Susan Braggs.

Currently, Savage presides over a criminal docket and exclusively hears felony cases.

Incumbent Judge Vickie Robertson with 72,499 votes narrowly retained her position against challenger Pat Crawley, who had 69,170 votes. Doug Sanderson of the Oklahoma County Election Board confirmed that Crawley filed a petition for a manual recount with the Oklahoma State Election Board.

The recount process will begin today in Courtroom No. 809 at the Oklahoma County Courthouse before Judge Virgil C. Black, who will determine whether or not the ballots have remained properly secure during the contest period.

If Judge Black finds the ballots were, in fact, properly secured he will then direct the Oklahoma County Election Board to conduct the manual recount at its offices.

(Mike Chionopoulos is a former special district judge for Oklahoma County's domestic division and an Edmond resident.)