The three state Representatives who filed suit against Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett to prevent him from voting in rate cases for three major utilities explained why they hired well-known attorney Stephen Jones to represent them before the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
“Throughout his long history representing high-profile defendants, Stephen Jones has been a champion of civil rights and constitutional due process rights. We are very happy to have his help in this matter,” the three state representatives said in a joint statement issued Monday after OK Energy Today first reported their hiring of Jones.
“Our petition argues that the due process rights of millions of Oklahoma ratepayers are being violated by Commissioner Hiett in utility cases worth billions of dollars. His alleged drunken and sexual misconduct toward and in front of utility company representatives has tainted these cases, and ratepayers already are suffering from it, continued Reps. Tom Gann, Kevin West and Rick West.
“We believe the rate payers in Oklahoma deserve fair and impartial representation from the Corporation Commission, and we are pleased Stephen Jones agrees with us. With his help and the court’s, we are confident judicial integrity and ratepayers’ constitutional rights can be restored at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.”
Their notice that Jones would represent them in Nov. 12 oral arguments was filed Friday with the Supreme Court. Until this point, the three state representatives had made their case to the court pro se, acting as their own attorney.
Jones is a nationally recognized attorney who led the defense team for Oklahoma City Murrah Building bomber Timothy McVeigh in the late 1990s.
The petition was filed Sept. 13 by Reps. Gann, R-Inola, Kevin West, R-Moore, and Rick West, R-Heavener, who between them are all customers of the state’s three largest public utility companies – Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG), Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO). The petition seeks to prohibit Hiett’s continuing participation in utility cases at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) involving victims and/or witnesses of criminal conduct allegedly committed by Hiett, according to witness statements given to The Oklahoman in July and August. Hiett has refused to disqualify himself from the cases.
The Supreme Court has called for oral arguments in the matter on Nov. 12.