Oklahoma lawyers have elected two attorneys to serve as new members of the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC). Trace Cole Sherrill of Durant and Steven L. Stice of Norman will each serve six-year terms on the 15-member commission, with terms expiring in 2031.

Mr. Sherrill was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 1992 after graduating from the OU College of Law. He began his career in Durant and became a special judge in 1995. Elected associate district judge for Bryan County in 2019, he managed juvenile and probate dockets until his 2022 retirement. He is now a mediator. Commissioned in the U.S. Army Reserve in 2006 and now a lieutenant colonel in the Oklahoma National Guard, he serves as brigade judge advocate for the 45th Field Artillery Brigade. He is married to Dena, and they have two children: Ashley Armstrong and the late Colton Sherrill.

Mr. Stice is a partner at Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman in Norman, focusing on criminal and civil litigation. He earned his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1996 and practiced privately until 2010 when he was appointed special judge for Cleveland County. He served on the bench. handling criminal, civil and juvenile matters until retiring in 2020 to return to private practice. Mr. Stice is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, 10th Circuit, Western District of Oklahoma, state of Oklahoma and the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nation tribal courts.

The JNC consists of 15 unpaid volunteer members. Of the 15 members, only six members are lawyers. Lawyer commissioners are elected by their fellow OBA members, each representing one of six congressional districts across the state, as they were in 1967 when the commission was established.* They each serve a 6-year term. Elections are held each odd-numbered year for members from two districts.

About the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission

The Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) was established in 1967 by an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution. The JNC nominates the three most qualified candidates for appointment by the governor to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court of Civil Appeals, district and associate district judgeships (when vacancies occur outside the normal election process) and the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims. The JNC has jurisdiction to determine whether applicants for judicial office meet the relevant qualifications for the respective office.