Oklahomans aren’t confirmed for federal court
Even as Senate Republicans have prioritized the confirmation of federal court nominees this year, several vacancies in Oklahoma remain open, with one nominee bogged down by ethical concerns.
Patrick Wyrick and John O’Connor both failed to make it through the Senate this year and will have to be renominated by President Donald Trump if they are to be considered next year. The Oklahoma City federal courthouse also has a new vacancy to be filled in 2019.
Wyrick, an Oklahoma Supreme Court justice, was nominated to fill an Oklahoma City vacancy in April and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in June, despite questions about his ties to Devon Energy and an error he made in a U.S. Supreme Court brief.
U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, said there’s enough support in the Senate to confirm Wyrick.
“Oh yes, I absolutely think they have the votes for Wyrick,” he said last week.
Wyrick was in line to be approved by the Senate just before the Christmas break but Republicans were unable to reach a deal with Democrats to expedite the process and bring his nomination up for a vote. The 38-yearold is a rising star in conservative law circles and on Trump’s list of possible U.S. Supreme Court nominees.
“I’m disappointed that Minority Leader (Chuck) Schumer was too afraid of the radical left to allow confirmations of wellqualified judges, including Patrick Wyrick this week,” said U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa. “I look forward to Wyrick and John O’Connor being renominated and confirmed in the new year.”
O’Connor, a Tulsa attorney, was also nominated by Trump on April 10 to be a roving judge across the state’s three federal courthouses in Tulsa, Muskogee and Oklahoma City. He faced few questions during a July 11 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and initially seemed well-positioned for confirmation.
Then, in August, an American Bar Association panel unanimously concluded O’Connor is unqualified due to limited courtroom experience and ethical concerns. O’Connor has called those claims “false and misleading allegations” but they have made his confirmation more difficult. Of the four prior judicial nominees in history to be rated unanimously unqualified, only one was confirmed by the Senate.
Trump must now decide whether to renominate O’Connor or choose someone else. Lankford and Inhofe expect O’Connor will be nominated again.
Trump will also fill a second vacancy in the Oklahoma City federal courthouse created by Judge Vicki MilesLaGrange’s retirement last month. No one has been nominated.
The Senate will likely be a friendlier place for Trump’s judicial nominees next year, with Republicans gaining seats in the upper chamber and Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, retiring. Flake held up nominations in the Judiciary Committee and Senate this fall as he demanded a vote on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.