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John M. O'Connor

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John O'Connor
19th Attorney General of Oklahoma
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 23, 2021
GovernorKevin Stitt
Preceded byMichael J. Hunter
Personal details
Born
John Michael O'Connnor

(1954-12-05) December 5, 1954 (age 69)
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children4
EducationOklahoma State University, Stillwater (BA)
University of Tulsa (JD)

John Michael O'Connor (born December 5, 1954) is an American attorney and politician serving as the 19th attorney general of Oklahoma. O’Connor was previously a shareholder of Hall Estill and a nominee to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Early life and education

A Tulsa native, O'Connor was born one of six children of parents Joseph, who worked on the Frisco railroad, and Mary O'Connor.[1] He earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from Oklahoma State University, where he was student body president, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa College of Law, which he attended on scholarships and where he was elected president of the student bar association.[2][3] He was awarded a Rotary International fellowship enabling him to study law at Friedreich Wilhelm Rheinische Universitat (University of Bonn) in Bonn, Germany.[4]

Career

From 1978 to 1979 O'Connor started his legal career as a law clerk for Kothe, Nichols and Wolf in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He later interned at Rosenstein, Fist and Ringold from 1979 to 1980 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He returned to Rosenstein, Fist and Ringold as an Attorney from 1981 to 1983.[5]

From 1983 to 2018, O'Connor practiced at Newton, O'Connor, Turner & Ketchum. In 2018, that firm merged with the larger firm Hall Estill, where he practiced corporate law until his appointment as Attorney General of Oklahoma.[6]

In 2006, the Tulsa Business & Legal News (a publication of the Tulsa World) identified O'Connor as a member of the "legal dream team" that anonymously-surveyed leading regional lawyers, judges and business leaders would recommend or choose to represent them in a courtroom.[7]

Nonprofit work

O'Connor has served on the board of various nonprofits, largely in Tulsa, Oklahoma, including the Tulsa Ronald McDonald House (1989-present), Rotary Club of Tulsa (1983-present), Tulsa's Leadership Vision, Inc. (2016-present), Saint Francis of Assisti Tuition Assistance Trust (2008-2017), WellQuest Medical & Wellness Corp. (2004-2016), 3DIcon (2006-2016), Dillon International Inc. (1992-2003), and the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association (1994-1996).[5]

Public sector appointments

O'Connor served on the Oklahoma Dispute Resolution Advisory Board from 1984 to 1986 after being appointed by the Administrative Director of the Oklahoma Courts. He later served as the City of Tulsa Human Rights Conciliator from 1985 to 1988 after being appointed by the city. He was then appointed by the Oklahoma Legislature to the Oklahoma Adoption Law Reform Committee where he served from 1995 to 1998.[5] O'Connor served on the City of Tulsa's Ethics Advisory Committee from March 2015 to December 2020 after being appointed by Mayor Dewey Bartlett and then being reappointed by Mayor G.T. Bynum.[8]

Since being appointed by Governor Mary Fallin in 2015, he has also served on the board of trustees for Oklahoma State University.[3]

In 2017, O'Connor was appointed to the Agency Performance and Accountability Commission by the Oklahoma State Senate President Pro-Tempore Mike Schultz. He was then elected Vice-Chair by the commission.[5]

Failed nomination to district court (2018-2019)

On April 10, 2018, President Trump nominated O'Connor to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Courts of Northern, Eastern, and Western districts of Oklahoma. He has been nominated to the seat vacated by Judge James H. Payne, who assumed senior status on August 1, 2017.[9] On July 11, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[10] During his hearings Senator Kamala Harris said the Judiciary Committee should not have moved forward with O'Connor's nomination before the ABA released its rating.[11] On August 21, 2018, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary unanimously rated O'Connor "not qualified" in the areas of professional competence and integrity.[12][13][14] The ABA did this after reviewing his history and talking to more than 50 people who knew him.[15] On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. He was not renominated.[16]

Attorney general of Oklahoma

On July 23, 2021, following the resignation of Michael J. Hunter, Governor Kevin Stitt appointed O’Connor as the 19th attorney general of Oklahoma. O’Connor’s appointment was criticized by numerous attorneys due to his ”not qualified” rating by the American Bar Association during his failed judicial confirmation process.[17]

O'Connor emphasized in his first statement as Attorney General of Oklahoma that he would ask the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the McGirt v. Oklahoma.[18] An initial request by the state to overturn McGirt was withdrawn after a lower-court decision, but O'Connor has said he will continue to file other cases seeking to overturn McGirt.[19][20]

O'Connor joined an amicus brief in July 2021 by Republican attorneys general in the upcoming Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The amicus brief asked the Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. O'Connor stated "The time has come to return the question of abortion to where it belongs- with the states."[21][22]

O'Connor favors the death penalty and has voiced his intent to resume executions in Oklahoma.[23] In late August 2021, O'Connor requested the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to set the execution date for seven death-row inmates. The death penalty had not been used in Oklahoma since the botched execution of Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner.[24]

O'Connor has spoken about the need to stop the black market cannabis industry in Oklahoma.[25]

O'Connor sued the federal government over COVID-19 vaccine requirements.[26]

Personal life

He and his wife Lucia have four children and eight grandchildren.[1][27] O'Connor is Catholic.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Stecklein, Janelle (September 4, 2021). "John O'Connor takes helm as AG". The Norman Transcript. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Twelfth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Twelfth Wave of United States Attorneys, and Sixth Wave of United States Marshals". whitehouse.gov. April 10, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018 – via National Archives. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b "John M. O'Connor bio". Hall Estill. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "Tulsa attorney appointed to OSU-Tulsa Board of Trustees". Tulsa Business and Legal News. December 4, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). judiciary.senate.gov. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  6. ^ Savage, Tres (July 22, 2021). "Report: Stitt to name John O'Connor next Oklahoma attorney general". NonDoc. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Tuttle, Ray (October 16, 2006). "Legal 'Dream Team': Anyone Would Want These Heavy Hitters in Their Corner". Tulsa Business & Legal News. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "City of Tulsa Boards and Commissions". City of Tulsa. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "Ten Nominations Sent to the Senate Today", The White House, April 10, 2018
  10. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for July 11, 2018
  11. ^ "John O'Connor, an Oklahoma judicial nominee, faces questions about Tulsa men's club". NewsOK.com. July 12, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  12. ^ Wingerter, Justin (August 22, 2018). "Oklahoma judicial nominee John O'Connor is unqualified, Bar Association says". NewsOK. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  13. ^ Wingerter, Justin (October 1, 2018). "Federal judge nominee from Tulsa has bar association complaints, was sued by client". Tulsa World. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  14. ^ "ABA committee gives 'not qualified' rating to a second Oklahoma judicial nominee". ABA Journal. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  15. ^ Oklahoman, Justin Wingerter The. "Federal judge nominee from Tulsa has bar association complaints, was sued by client". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  16. ^ Wingerter, Justin (February 3, 2019). "Patrick Wyrick picked again by Trump for OKC federal judgeship but John O'Connor still up in the air". NewsOK. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  17. ^ "Stitt taps Tulsa man for AG despite 'not qualified' rating". AP NEWS. July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  18. ^ Krehbiel, Randy (July 24, 2021). "Tulsan John O'Connor named attorney general". Tulsa World. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  19. ^ Hoberock, Barbara (August 7, 2021). "State asks U.S. Supreme Court to overturn landmark McGirt decision". Tulsa World. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  20. ^ Casteel, Chris (September 4, 2021). "Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor withdraws main challenge to McGirt decision". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  21. ^ Richards, Dillion (June 30, 2021). "Oklahoma attorney general wastes no time taking aim at Roe v. Wade". KOCO 5 News ABC. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  22. ^ McCarville, Mike (July 30, 2021). "O'Connor Joins Effort to Overturn Roe v. Wade". The McCarville Report. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Hoberock, Barbara (August 25, 2021). "New Oklahoma attorney general on Bar Association rating, death penalty and tribal gaming". Tulsa World. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  24. ^ Hoberock, Barbara (August 29, 2021). "Oklahoma AG requests execution dates for seven state death-row inmates". Tulsa World. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  25. ^ Forman, Carmen (September 5, 2021). "New Oklahoma AG John O'Connor talks McGirt, ABA rating and state's top legal issues". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  26. ^ World, Barbara Hoberock Tulsa. "State adjutant general says he was relieved of his duties by Gov. Stitt". Tulsa World. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  27. ^ "Joseph W. O'Connor (Obituary)". Tulsa Tribune. October 11, 1976.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Dawn Cash
Acting
 Attorney General of Oklahoma
2021–present 		Incumbent
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