An Oklahoma judge already facing criminal prosecution in connection with two shootings has now been accused of sexual and professional misconduct on the job.
If the allegations against him are any indication, Brian Lovell, a 59-year-old associate judge in Garfield County, Oklahoma, is one unsavory character.
Lovell has also been accused of favoring certain attorneys and issuing rulings, including bond assessments, accordingly; illicitly collaborating with attorneys through ‘ex parte communications’; and even attempting to persuade an attorney to commit perjury.
In the past five months, Lovell has been indicted in connection with two separate shootings that occurred in 2023: one at his brother-in-law’s ranch and one at a busy intersection in Austin, Texas, as Blaze News previously reported. Thankfully, no one was injured in either incident.
He also faces a misdemeanor reckless driving charge in connection with the incident in Austin.
Now, a petition from the Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints has accused Lovell of various forms of misconduct related to his work on the bench, resulting in a temporary judicial suspension. The allegations in the petition include gross neglect of duty, corruption in office, and gross partiality in office.
According to the petition, Lovell has had a sexual relationship with two different female bailiffs over the span of 12 years. In 2011, he allegedly had an eight-month relationship with one bailiff. She later disclosed the relationship and resigned, though district judges voted to allow Lovell to stay on the bench.
Then in 2023, Lovell allegedly began a relationship with the female bailiff who replaced Lovell’s former lover. This time, he and his new lover exchanged “sexually graphic messages and images” and even engaged in “sexual intercourse … inside the courthouse during courthouse hours,” the petition said.
Lovell denied any sexual relationship but did admit they had engaged in “flirtatious texting,” according to the petition. However, the woman testified to the sexual nature of their relationship, the Daily Caller reported, and their text messages allegedly corroborate her story.
In addition to the accusations of sexual misconduct, Lovell has also been accused of favoring certain attorneys and issuing rulings, including bond assessments, accordingly; illicitly collaborating with attorneys through “ex parte communications”; and even attempting to persuade an attorney to commit perjury during a hearing for the Council on Judicial Complaints.
Stephen Jones, who is representing Lovell in connection with the judicial council’s accusations as well as at least one of the criminal cases against him, indicated that the system is out to get his client.
Jones likened the allegations to an “ambush” and a “blind sided attack … designed to humiliate and embarrass Judge Lovell and his family,” Jones continued.
“The actions of the Council on Judicial Complaints should be a warning to every judge in this State that their tenure and professionalism can be attacked by unfair procedures and investigation techniques,” Jones added.
“The Council on Judicial Complaints likes to compare itself to a grand jury. The comparison fails. In its actions, the Council’s conduct resembles the star chambers of British history.”
The council’s petition was filed June 27, and Lovell has 20 days after that to respond. He also has until July 8 to respond in writing to his temporary suspension. A motion hearing at the Oklahoma Supreme Court is scheduled for July 30, with other pretrial hearings to follow.
Lovell was scheduled to have at least one hearing last month about the shooting in Austin, but whether that hearing occurred as scheduled is unclear. He faces a hearing about the shooting at his brother-in-law’s ranch in August.
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