In most states, there is one court of last resort. The highest courts in these states go by various names: typically, the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals.Oklahoma and neighboring Texas are the only two states that have two high courts. In Oklahoma, these courts of last resort are the Oklahoma SupremeCourt and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over civil matters; the Court of Criminal Appeals has jurisdiction over criminal matters.
However, in recent years, these distinctions are becoming blurred, and the Court of Criminal Appeals has criticized its sister court for exceeding itsjurisdiction in attempting to rule on criminal matters.
Although it was not the first time these two courts butted heads, the death penalty lawsuits brought on behalf of Oklahoma death row inmates in recentyears brought the conflict to light. In 2014, after the Court of Criminal Appeals declined to stay the executions of Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner,the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued stays of execution for the two inmates. The criminal appeals court was outraged, and one state legislator calledfor the impeachment of five state Supreme Court justices, saying that their decision to rule in the case was a gross overreach of power.
Now, the Criminal Appeals court is again criticizing the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying that once again, Supreme Court justices have issued a ruling ina case they had no jurisdiction to hear in the first place.
Kurt Meyer, 58, is a murder defendant from Choctaw, accused of killing his wife in 2014 to avoid an expensive divorce settlement. Meyer asked the Courtof Criminal Appeals to disqualify a judge in his case, but the court refused to consider his petition since he did not raise the issue within fivedays, as required.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that Meyer had five business days, not five days, to raise the issue, and sent the request back to the Court of CriminalAppeals. The Criminal Appeals court, saying its decision was correct in the first place, and rejecting the Supreme Court's ability to make such a determinationin a criminal matter, again refused to consider Meyer's petition.
Criminal Appeals Court Judge David Lewis said of the situation, "The OklahomaConstitution and relevant Oklahoma statutes grant this court exclusive jurisdiction over criminal matters. The Oklahoma Supreme Court does not havethe authority in criminal cases to determine which court rules apply in criminal cases."
Fellow judge Robert Hudson wrote this criticism, pointing out the possible fallout from the high courts overreaching their jurisdiction: "The OklahomaSupreme Court's actions threaten to create the very type of conflicts and confusion in the administration of justice which Oklahoma law forbids. The... actions foreshadow a world in which unsuccessful litigants before our Court will engage in forum-shopping by filing an appeal with the state SupremeCourt seeking to bypass our ruling."
One thing is certain, the conflict between the two courts needs to be quickly straightened out, with any constitutional issues resolved for the protectionthe rights of Oklahomans.
