Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Recommends Removal of State Judge Over Corruption Charges

By KEN MILLER Associated Press

(AP) – The Oklahoma Supreme Court’s chief justice is recommending the immediate suspension and eventual removal of a state judge facing separate shooting charges in Oklahoma and Texas.

The petition filed Thursday with the Oklahoma Court of Judiciary by Chief Judge John Kane IV follows an investigation by the Judicial Grievance Board into the actions of Garfield County Deputy District Judge Brian Lovell.

The petition accuses Lovell of having sex with two of another judge’s bailiffs in the courthouse during office hours and exchanging sexual texts and images with one of the bailiffs in the courthouse during office hours. They also allege dereliction of duty, corruption, favoritism over one attorney and improper sealing of a case assigned to another judge.

The Court of Justice will meet on July 2 to discuss the case, and the first hearing on Kane’s petition is scheduled for July 30.

According to Kane’s petition, Lovell “has demonstrated a lack of respect for the judicial office entrusted to him and a continuing pattern of misconduct and dishonesty.”

“This conduct is further evidence of (Lovell’s) lack of the character necessary to serve as a judge, which undermines public confidence in the independence, integrity, impartiality and competence of the judiciary,” the petition reads.

Lovell’s attorney, Stephen Jones, called the allegations an “ambush” and said the judge was never notified of the petition and was never asked to respond.

Jones stated that his and Lovell’s absence from the March hearing on the matter mentioned by Kane was due to Jones’s hospitalization and that the board was aware of his medical condition.

“Judge Lovell is not guilty of gross dereliction of duty, corruption in office, any crime of immorality in office, gross bias in office, oppression in office or any other cause,” Jones said, calling the petition an attempt to “humiliate and embarrass Judge Lovell and his family.”

Kane wrote that these charges are unrelated to indictments that accused Lovell of shooting at parked vehicles in Austin, Texas, in September and at his brother-in-law’s home in Bison, Oklahoma, in February 2023.

Jones said Lovell denies any wrongdoing in connection with the shooting in Oklahoma, where he will have a preliminary hearing in August.

Lovell’s attorney in Austin, where a pretrial hearing is scheduled for July, did not return a call seeking comment.

Lovell has not presided over any cases since his arrest in Austin.