An expert panel will debate Oklahoma’s system of judicial selection at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 22, 2012 on Rogers State University Public Television. The discussion will be rebroadcast at 11 p.m., Sunday , March 25.
The hour-long special, “Secret System: The Selection of Judges in Oklahoma,” was produced by RSU Public TV and will critique our state’s mixed system of elections and judicial appointments.
The show’s panel will include District 12 Judge Dynda R. Post, law professor Charles Adams of The University of Tulsa College of Law and Dr. Quentin Taylor, professor of history and political science at RSU. The debate will be hosted by Dr. Jeff Gentry, department head of the RSU Department of Communications and Greg Kunz Endowed Chair in Communications.
The show combines the discussion panel with highlights of remote interviews with Adams and Post conducted by Gentry. The show investigates a Catch-22 of American values, Gentry said.
“When voters elect judges, money and special interests intrude on judicial independence. When judges are appointed we risk a ‘star chamber’ of backroom deals controlling our courts,” he said.
Panelists share points of agreement but also clash vigorously on others, such as the effectiveness of the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission and whether gubernatorial appointment or elections ensure greater accountability.
Gentry has produced and hosted five previous programs on RSU Public TV, including last year’s “Healthcare and the Next Generation.”
RSU Public Television is licensed to Rogers State University and is the only public TV station operated by a university in Oklahoma. The station, based on the RSU campus in Claremore, reaches 1.3 million people within a 75-mile radius of the campus.
RSU Public TV broadcasts on digital channel 35.1 and 35.2, Tulsa and Claremore COX cable channel 109, Cable Channel 4 in Bartlesville and satellite channel 35 across northeastern Oklahoma.
More information is available by visiting www.rsu.tv.