Title: CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY v. BALKMAN

State: oklahoma

Issuer: Oklahoma Supreme Court

Document:

CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY v. BALKMAN  CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY v. BALKMAN 2020 OK 104 Case Number: 118950 Decided: 12/07/2020 THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA NOTICE: THIS OPINION HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION. UNTIL RELEASED, IT IS SUBJECT TO REVISION OR WITHDRAWAL. THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY, Petitioner, v. THE HONORABLE THAD BALKMAN, CHIEF JUDGE, CLEVELAND COUNTY, THE HONORABLE STEVEN STICE, SPECIAL DISTRICT JUDGE, CLEVELAND COUNTY, and THE HONORABLE JACK MCCURDY, CHIEF JUDGE, CANADIAN COUNTY, Respondents. ORDER Original jurisdiction is assumed on the Amended Application to Assume Original Jurisdiction and Petition for Writ of Prohibition. Okla. Const. art. VII, ( 4. This Court's July 30, 2020, Order granting a stay of enforcement of AO-2020-1 and AO-2020-3, pending this Court's disposition of this Cause, remains in effect until further action by this Court or final disposition of this matter. DONE BY THE ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT THIS 7th DAY OF DECEMBER, 2020. /S/CHIEF JUSTICE Gurich, C.J. (by separate writing), Darby, V.C.J., Kauger (by separate writing), Colbert, and Combs, JJ., concur; Winchester, Edmondson, Kane (by separate writing) and Rowe (by separate writing), JJ., dissent. GURICH, C.J., specially concurring. ¶1 I concur in the Order which assumes Original Jurisdiction and the Petition for Writ of Prohibition. The Court of Criminal Appeals only has jurisdiction in criminal cases. In re M.B., 2006 OK 63, ¶ 8, 145 P.3d 1040 , 1044. The subject of this original action is the issuance of administrative orders by the district courts. There is no pending criminal prosecution, and we are not called upon to review a criminal conviction, or even issues collateral to pending criminal case. See Parsons v. District Court of Pushmataha County, 2017 OK 97, ¶ 19, 408 P.3d 586, 595; Okla. Const., art. VII, § 4. In fact, on July 30, 2020, the majority of the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals recognized the civil nature of this case, and issued an order transferring the matter to this Court for our determination of jurisdiction. 1 The orders before us are no more criminal matters than a civil suit arising out of detention at a jail facility or the adjudication of a negligence case predicated on a law enforcement motor vehicle accident which occurs during the transportation of an arrestee or inmate--both of which are matters only incidental to criminal arrest and/or confinement. ¶2 District judges have only two functions--judicial and administrative. Jurisdiction to review administrative orders issued by district courts lies solely in this Court, not the Court of Criminal Appeals: Review of an administrative decision made in the exercise of a district court's managerial function may be sought only through an original proceeding in the Supreme Court. Similarly, management decisions by a Chief Justice are reviewable and correctable only by the Supreme Court sitting in its capacity as the administrative board of directors for the entire judicial system. Board of Law Library Trustees of Oklahoma County v. Petusky, 1991 OK 22, ¶ 14, 25 P.2d 1285 (citations omitted). As we have further explained: In order to have a unified, organized judiciary in Oklahoma, there must be one individual at the apex: the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Through the powers vested in the Supreme Court, by the Oklahoma Constitution and statutes, it has passed down the authority for the administration of district courts to the Administrative Judge of an Administrative Judicial District. This authority is essential for the orderly operation of justice. Petusky v. Cannon, 1987 OK 74, ¶ 35, 742 P.2d 1117 . ¶3 I also concur in the continued stay of the enforcement of AO-2020-1 (J. Balkman, Cleveland County District Judge) and AO-2020-3 (J. McCurdy, Canadian County District Judge). FOOT