Ads target Oklahoma Supreme Court justices over ‘padding the pockets of trial lawyers’
Caroline MolloyA group frustrated by Oklahoma Supreme Court rulings has launched an unusual campaign aimed at convincing voters to remove three justices at the November ballot box.
Critics though said the effort is “tragic” and is a knee-jerk reaction by some who want to alter the makeup of the Oklahoma’s highest court because they disagree with the court’s decisions.
The ads target Justices Noma Gurich, Yvonne Kauger and James Edmondson. The ads list their ages as being older than 71.
The ads are being sponsored by People for Opportunity, which has board representatives from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, a conservative activist group that is a regular in legislative politics. People for Opportunity lists OCPA President Jonathan Small as one of its board members, along with Trent England, one of its fellows.
Federal Communications Commission filings show the group has spent at least $156,000 to air television ads critical of the three justices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas. The campaign has spent about $85,000 to air the commercial during the University of Oklahoma-University of Texas college football game on Oct. 12.
