Oklahoma's state courts and state prosecutors ought to have symmetry in their district boundaries, right? If you're a victim of a crime in Pawnee county, your perpetrator should face justice in the same district court system and district prosecutors. But Pawnee felonies may be tried by a District Prosecutor from the Tulsa District(14), but a District Court judge from the Osage Disrict(10). Muskogee county has their own District Court(15) but their prosecutor is Possibly from Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah, or Wagoner County. In all, 15 counties are caught in this confusion. It's only confusing because the District Courts map and the District Attorneys map are, in fact, far more similar than distinct. 62 of the counties have identically numbered districts serving the cause of justice on their behalf. The root cause for such confusion seems to be a fundamental principle of the division of powers in our constitutional government. the Judges are subject to the Oklahoma Supreme Court and follow the order set by the 9 justices. But the District Attorneys answer to an Executive Branch officer of the state, namely, the Attorney General. |
Original Court Districts - 1909 | Several decades ago, most states abandoned the county office of "County Attorney" because the office lacked necessary accountability to the Attorney General, and the Attorney General's office needed better coordination of prosecuting crimes in the state. There still exists some untidy statutes in the state code where the office of County Attorney is empowered to seek an injunction for unlawful practice of healing arts (§59-738.1) District Attorneys are now officeholders of the state and derive their pay from the state. The County Attorney was an officeholder of the county and paid out of county funds. |