The Oklahoma State Capital

In a surprise decision, Governor Kevin Stitt has bypassed Logan County Associate District Judge Luke Duel and has instead opted to appoint an outsider, without known district court judicial experience, to head the District 9 court system, consisting of Logan and Payne counties.

Stitt's appointment of Jason Reese, of The Village, as the district judge for Payne and Logan counties comes after District Judge Phillip Corley, a longtime District 9 judge who had worked his way up to the district judge position—the foremost judicial office in the district—resigned in September.

Reese, the past general counsel for Stitt's office, having served in that role for several months during 2021, most recently listed the Oklahoma City law firm Goodwin Lewis PLLC as his employer.

Stitt chose Reese over Duel and Payne County Special Judge Katherine Thomas, who has been in that role since her 2011 appointment by Corley.

Duel, the longtime associate district judge for Logan County, boasts a lengthy resume, having preceded his judicial experience as both a local deputy sheriff and assistant district attorney. In 2010, Duel won more than 50% of the vote in a five-way election and replaced Guthrie's Larry Brooks as associate district judge.

In October, Stitt's choice of candidates was narrowed to Reese, Duel, and Thomas from the original list of seven by the state's controversial Judicial Nominating Commission. That commission is empowered by law to limit the governor's choices to three nominees.

Reese has unsuccessfully campaigned for various offices as a Republican candidate over the years, including the positions of labor commissioner, state senator, and state representative.

Stitt's appointment gives Reese two years to earn the support of locals, as the district judge position is next up for re-election in 2026.

Residency

State law requires that appointees live within the district as a condition of appointment. Reese's nomination was advanced by the Judicial Nominating Commission, even as state records show that at the time of his nomination, he appeared to have been a registered voter in The Village.

On Jan. 2, the Logan County Election Board brought Reese onto the Logan County voter rolls at a rental on Guthrie's east side. On Jan. 7, Oklahoma County officials officially removed Reese from their voter rolls. The website Zillow lists Reese's Village residence, a rental, as having been placed back on the rental market in late December.

Stitt's official notice of Reese's appointment is dated Dec. 16.

Courthouse

Regardless of whether he becomes a long-term officeholder or a temporary transition agent, Reese, as he presides over the court, will play a key role in the costly Logan County Courthouse renovation project. Logan County commissioners have pointed to Reese's predecessor, Phillip Corley, as being the reason for the project—a project that has set the county on a path to spending millions to renovate former state office space to move county officials out of the courthouse complex and open up space in the courthouse for new judicial offices.

The county office renovation costs are now approaching $5 million, leaving a diminishing amount for the courthouse renovation and raising the specter that even more of the venerable courthouse building—whose storied history includes hosting the original capitol's state government offices—will remain vacant while commissioners determine how to accomplish the renovation.

A judge purportedly told commissioners that the Logan County court system needed the space due to an increasing workload. However, the State Supreme Court's official caseload reports appear to show a diminishing caseload in the Logan County system, and it is unknown to what extent the judge may have provided commissioners any official documentation or if it was requested by the commission before they made their decision. The circumstances of that decision are part of an ongoing investigation by The Capital.

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