4. TULSA-PAWNEE DISTRICT COURT JUDICIAL DISTRICT
The majority of Oklahoma’s State Judicial Officers are the Judges of the District Courts.
They are usually the first contact a citizen has with the judicial system. Distric t Court Judges
hear both civil and criminal matters. Nine Presiding Judges of Oklahoma’s Judicial Districts
are elected by the State District Court Judiciary to assist in the administration of the State’s
trial courts. These judges represent different geographic areas and meet monthly with members of the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals to discuss trends, topics and
developments that affect the administration of justice in Oklahoma.
Voters in Tulsa and Pawnee counties are in the 14
th
Judicial District, which has two
associate District Judges (Tulsa and Pawnee Counties) and fourteen District Court judges.
District judges are elected every four years. Election for District Court office is by
nonpartisan ballot at the State General Election. In the 14
th
Judicial District, nine of the
judicial offices are designated “at large” offices, to be elected by all Tulsa and Pawnee
County voters; five offices are designated as electoral divisions within the geographic
boundaries of Tulsa County, to be elected only by voters residing within a division. All
incumbent judges who seek to retain office file as candidates for the state general election.
If an incumbent draws no opponent, he or she retains that office for another four years. If
more than one opponent files for a particular office, the opposing candidate is determined at
the time of the state primary by the most votes. There is no run-off election for judicial office.
Vacancies in District Court judicial offices are filled by appointment of the Governor from a
list of three merit nominees submitted by the State Judicial Nominating Commission. All
current office terms expire in December, 2014.
The Salary for the District Court Judges is $124,373. Salaries are established by the Board
of Judicial Compensation, except when overturned by the Legislature. As a result of
legislative action, District Court Judges, like virtually all other State employees, have not
received cost-of-living salary adjustments in more than six years.