By Orpheus
The
Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) is making headlines this week when it
became public that their Assistant General Counsel Attorney Stephen
Sullins has been accused of witness tampering, coordinating testimony
and in one case, telling a ten year former girlfriend of an attorney
Jeff Krigel (attorney) of Tulsa, Oklahoma that the attorney ‘drugs' and
‘rapes’ women in order to coerce the former girlfriend to file a bar
complaint. It is thought that Sullins conspired with the attorney’s
ex-wife, Stephanie Duran, herself an attorney in order to assist her in
stealing custody of the man’s eight year old minor child. In that
matter the attorney has been a single dad for six years sharing 50/50
custody.
According
to witnesses, Sullins contacted women who haven’t seen the attorney in
question for five and ten years supposedly at the ‘recommendation’ of
the attorney’s ex-wife. The OBA asks two women to file complaints but
calls one back and tells her it has 'been too long’ (ten years). Six
months later prior to April 27th, 2021, she relates Sullins contacts her
again and says now the attorney ‘drugs’ and ‘rapes’ women.
Two
days later attorney’s three year live in girlfriend will ‘drink water’
and ‘not remember’ inferring non consensual sex and go for a SANE exam
five days after that. The girlfriend (now obviously ex) came to find
the attorney because as she reports to police she was contacted ‘a few
days earlier’ by Duran and told that the attorney is a cheater and the
Bar (Sullins) will be contacting her. According to filings Sullins is
noted in the police report as the ‘origin of the complaint’ something
that would violate OBA rules.
Sullins
recently prosecuted McAlester attorney Brecken Wagner who was convicted
of a fine only in a case of falsely filing a police report. Wagner was
convicted when a Pittsburg County jury decided he wrongfully used 911
in order to report police officers for trespassing as they were
executing a deficient search warrant. The Supreme Court refused to
impose any discipline noting the absurdity of the underlying criminal
offense, the paperwork was deficient.
The
Tulsa World noted this session the legislature considered dissolving
the Judicial Nominating Committee, a group that makes final
recommendations on who the governor may appoint to a judgeship, allowing
the governor to straight appoint attorneys to judgeships. In that same
legislation is language to remove the OBA from the ability to ensure
attorneys for conduct outside of a courtroom.
