Chief Justice Richard Darby announced this week that the Oklahoma Supreme Court elected M. John Kane, IV, to serve as Chief Justice for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2023. Dustin P. Rowe was elected to serve as Vice Chief Justice for the same biennium.
Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Justice Kane to the state’s highest court in 2019, where he has served as Vice Chief Justice since January, 2021. He previously served as district judge in Osage County from 2005 until his appointment to the Supreme Court in September, 2019.
Justice Rowe was appointed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in November, 2019, by Governor Stitt. Prior to his appellate appointment, Rowe, of Tishomingo, had been in private practice since 2001 and had been serving as a judge with the Chickasaw Nation.
The Oklahoma Constitution provides that the Justices of the Supreme Court shall “choose from among their members a Chief Justice and a Vice Chief Justice,”