Oklahoma Supreme Court finds ‘business courts’ bill unconstitutional

In a five-justice majority opinion released Tuesday afternoon, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that “several aspects of Senate Bill 632 violate the Oklahoma Constitution,” a decision that derails efforts to establish the so-called “business courts” that Gov. Kevin Stitt had convinced state lawmakers to approve during budget negotiations in the 2024 regular session.

“Non-offending sections are not capable of being severed and executed in accordance with the legislative intent,” Justice Noma Gurich wrote in the majority opinion. “We therefore conclude Senate Bill 632 is unconstitutional, void in its entirety, and lacking legal enforceability.”

Gurich was joined in her opinion by Justices James Winchester, James Edmondson, Douglas Combs and Richard Darby. The five justices — and to a great extent Chief Justice Dustin Rowe in a separate opinion — found that the business courts would constitute a “division” of district courts, which are required to feature judicial elections by the state constitution.

Because SB 632 proposed the governor appointing business court judges from among candidates put forth by the House of Representatives and confirmed by the State Senate, the majority of the court found that it would violate Article 7, Section 9 of the Oklahoma Constitution, which states that “district judges and associate district judges shall be elected by the voters of the several respective districts or counties at a non-partisan election in the manner provided by statute.”

In July, the court stayed SB 632’s implementation after oral arguments, where Ben Lepak, Stitt’s general counsel, argued that the business courts outlined in the bill would be “adjudicative bodies” more akin to state boards and commissions.

Oklahoma Supreme Court finds 'business courts' bill unconstitutional