The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals is an intermediate

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. Cases are assigned to it by the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

, the state's highest court for

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

matters.
Stephens, Jerry E.,"Judiciary." ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. May 31, 2010.] Accessed May 2, 2018 The court consists of twelve judges divided into four panels with three judges each. They are responsible for the majority of appellate decisions in Oklahoma.Oklahoma Bar Association,
Judges and Courts
(accessed June 23, 2010). Furthermore, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has the power to release the court's opinions for publication, in which case they have value as

precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great v ...

. Two of the court's four panels are housed in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

.Oklahoma Supreme Court Network,
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma
" p. 3 (accessed June 23, 2010). The two

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

panels are housed in the

Oklahoma State Capitol The Oklahoma State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the building that houses the Oklahoma Legislature and executive branch offices. It is located along Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City and contains 452,5 ...

building.

History

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals was established by the state legislature in 1970 under Title 20, section 30.1, of the Oklahoma Statutes, which provides: "There is hereby established an intermediate appellate court to be known as the Court of Civil Appeals of the State of Oklahoma which shall have the power to determine or otherwise dispose of any cases that are assigned to it by the Supreme Court." Any decision of the Court of Civil Appeals in any case assigned to it, upon petition by one of the parties involved, may be reviewed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court if a majority of its Justices direct that a petition for certiorari be granted, and the Supreme Court may, by order, recall a case from the Court of Civil Appeals.

Selection process

Appellate judges are appointed by the governor from a list of three candidates nominated by the

Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission {{Update, inaccurate=yes, date=May 2021 The Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission is the judicial nominating commission of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It selects potential justices and judges for gubernatorial appointments for judges for stat ...

.Oklahoma Supreme Court Network,
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma
" p. 5 (accessed June 23, 2010). The commission is composed of six attorneys who are "members of the Oklahoma Bar Association and who have been elected by the other active members of their district," 6 non-attorneys appointed by the governor, and 3 non-attorney "members at large," one to be selected by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, one to be selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one to be selected by at least eight members of the commission itself. Article 7B, section 3, of the Oklahoma Constitution sets forth the composition of the nominating commission in even greater detail.

Members

Current judges

The judges of the Court of Civil Appeals are: This graphical timeline depicts the length of each current judge's tenure (but not seniority) on the Court:

Timeline of justices

Beginning in 1987, seats on the Court of Civil Appeals are filled by non-partisan appointment by the

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the '' ex o ...

upon nomination by the

. Judges serve until the next general election following their appointment at which they are retained or rejected. If retained, they serve for an additional six-years until the next retention election. Note:
Bar key:

References

External links

Flowchart of the Oklahoma Court System, showing the jurisdiction of the Court of Civil Appeals
{{State Intermediate Appellate Courts State appellate courts of the United States Oklahoma state courts 1970 establishments in Oklahoma Courts and tribunals established in 1970