Oklahoma AG and governor feud again over legal representation

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday that Drummond terminate the contract he said Stitt entered into the case this week with lawyers who will represent two government officials in lawsuit with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

The federal lawsuit, known as Briggs v. Friesen, alleges that the state agency violated the due process rights of several people currently charged with crimes by failing to provide timely court-ordered competency restoration services to those deemed incompetent to stand trial.

Drummond said he negotiated a consent decree in August with plaintiff’s attorneys that would set a maximum 21-day waiting period for the state to provide rehabilitative services to a county jail inmate found incompetent by a court. Federal judge gave pre-approval to the deal in September.

states Contingency Review Board met to review the agreement on Oct. 8, although Drummond called the meeting “premature,” noting that U.S. District Judge Gregory Frizzell had set a hearing for Jan. 15 to consider final approval of the consent decree.

On the day of the meeting, Ellie Friesen, the agency’s mental health commissioner, released a statement saying that she Drummond terminated as her lawyer in the case because he did not prioritize her or her agency. During the meeting, Stitt and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, voted 2-0 to reject the agreement, with Senate President pro tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, abstaining from voting.

Drummond represented Friesen and Debbie Moran, interim executive director of the Oklahoma Forensic Center, in the lawsuit. Friesen publicly opposed the consent decree and said during a meeting of the Emergency Review Board that she would “resign before she would sign such an agreement.”

In a statement that day announcing her decision to remove Drummond from the case, Friesen said the board’s rejection of the consent decree negotiated by Drummond “is the best step to ensure justice for all Oklahomans.” The consent decree, as currently written and approved by the attorney general, would stop treatment in 75 of 77 counties, stopping needed treatment for people already receiving care, and would also delay justice for victims in these criminal cases. This is simply unacceptable.

“When Oklahomans are unable to receive timely treatment, their conditions can worsen. Drummond’s demands will leave countless people who rely on us uncared for. The longer we delay, the harder it becomes for them to recover.”

Drummond said his client in the case is the State of Oklahoma, and because Friesen “did not hire” him, she could not fire him as counsel in the case.

Stitt subsequently hired William “Bill” O’Connor of the law firm Hall Estill to represent Friesen. O’Connor appeared in the case in the Northern District of Oklahoma on Oct. 14 along with three other Hall Estill attorneys. Drummond said Friday he is invoking his constitutional authority as the state’s chief law enforcement officer to “assume control of the legal proceedings” involving the state. He filed a petition asked Frizzell to exclude O’Connor, Brian Inbody, John Ricker and Kristen Evans from appearing as attorneys in the case.

“Given our many previous disagreements, you are no doubt already aware that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has expressly held: ‘The Attorney General, by law… is the chief lawyer of the State,'” Drummond wrote in his letter to Stitt. “In the absence of express statutory or constitutional expression to the contrary, he has full power over every proceeding in which he duly acts in the interest of the State, whether he has a relative or any other nominal party.”

“Further, my client in this case is the State of Oklahoma, and not Commissioner Friesen and Executive Director Moran in their individual capacities. “I will continue to represent the State of Oklahoma, including Commissioner Friesen and Executive Director Moran in their official capacities, to the best of my ability.”

A spokeswoman for Stitt did not immediately respond to a message Friday seeking comment on Drummond’s letter.