Oklahoma AG, Governor again fights for legal representation

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday that Drummond will terminate a contract he said Stitt entered this week with attorneys who would represent two state officials in the a process involving 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 a crime by failing to provide timely restorative services ordered by court of those deemed incompetent to stand trial.

Drummond said in August that he negotiated a consent decree with the plaintiff’s attorneys that would set a maximum wait time of 21 days for the state to provide restorative services to a county jail inmate found incompetent by a court. A federal judge gave prior approval at the September deal.

Of the state Contingency Review Board they met to discuss the settlement on October 8, although Drummond called the meeting “premature”, noting that US District Judge Gregory Frizzell had set a hearing for January 15 to consider final approval of the consent decree.

On the day of the meeting, Allie Friesen, the commissioner of the mental health agency, released a statement saying that Drummond finished as her attorney in the case because she was not prioritizing the agency. During the meeting, Stitt and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, voted 2-0 to reject the deal, and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, abstention from voting.

Drummond represented Friesen and Debbie Moran, the acting executive director of the Oklahoma Criminal Investigation Center, in the lawsuit. Friesen publicly opposed the consent decree and stated during the Contingency Review Committee meeting that he would “resign before signing such an agreement.”

In a statement the day she announced her decision to dismiss Drummond from the case, Friesen said the board’s rejection of Drummond’s negotiated consent decree “is the best step to ensure justice for all Oklahomans . The consent decree, as currently drafted and approved by the attorney general, would end jurisdictional treatment in 75 of 77 counties, stopping essential treatment for people already receiving care and delaying justice for victims in these criminal cases. This is simply unacceptable.

“When Oklahomans can’t get timely treatment, their condition can get worse. Drummond’s demands would deny care to countless individuals who rely on us. The longer we delay, the harder it will be for them to recover.”

Drummond said her client in the case is the state of Oklahoma, and because Friesen “didn’t hire her,” she couldn’t fire him as her attorney in the case.

Stitt later hired William “Bill” O’Connor of the Hall Estill law firm to represent Friesen. O’Connor entered an appearance in the case in the Northern District of Oklahoma on Oct. 14, along with three other Hall Estill attorneys. Drummond said Friday that he is invoking his constitutional power as chief law enforcement officer to “take over and take control of litigation” involving the state. He filed a motion asked Frizzell to drop the appearances of O’Connor, Brian Inbody, John Ricker and Kristen Evans as attorneys in the case.

“Based on our many prior disagreements, you no doubt know that the Oklahoma Supreme Court has clearly held, “The Attorney General, by statute … is the state’s chief law officer,”” Drummond wrote in his letter to Stitt. “In the absence of express legislative or constitutional expression to the contrary, he has full control over any litigation in which he properly appears in the interest of the state, whether or not there is a relator or any other nominal party.”

“Moreover, my client in this case is the State of Oklahoma, 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 capacity, to the best of my ability.”

A spokeswoman for Stitt did not immediately return a message Friday seeking comment about Drummond’s letter.