The court heard oral arguments last month in a case three legislators brought against Commissioner Todd Hiett after allegations that he groped a man’s groin at a conference over the summer, as first reported by The Oklahoman.
According to witness statements, the alleged victim represents a company under the Corporation Commission’s regulation. This comes after accounts of a separate incident, where Hiett allegedly propositioned a female OCC employee at a reception for a law firm that represents Oklahoma’s three largest utilities, then drove away intoxicated.
Republican state Reps. Tom Gann of Inola, Rick West of Heavener and Kevin West of Moore asked the Supreme Court to disqualify Hiett from at least three cases involving utilities — Oklahoma Natural Gas, OG+E and Public Service Company of Oklahoma — with ties to victims or witnesses of the alleged inappropriate behavior.
But no criminal charges have been filed against Hiett, and the alleged victims and witnesses have not come forward publicly. Accounts of the incident this summer come from certified but partially redacted accounts made to the Kansas Corporation Commission by KCC employees who say they witnessed the assault.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has no procedures requiring members to recuse themselves from cases where they have conflicts of interest like Oklahoma judges do.
The attorney representing Hiett before the Supreme Court called the legislators’ case “rank speculation that Commissioner Hiett has engaged in any wrongful or, as they put it, criminal behavior.”
He said this suit is not how to hold Hiett accountable because the court doesn’t have the power to remove someone acting in a legislative (rather than judicial) capacity.
“These House members have the authority, not you,” White told the justices. “They have the authority to bring articles of impeachment and go through the process.”
The Supreme Court didn’t quite agree with that. In her concurring opinion, Justice Dana Kuehn said plainly that the court can disqualify a commissioner.
“The Constitution clearly gives us the power to do so,” Kuehn wrote. “I believe we should exercise that power, if at all, under egregious circumstances where there is no other effective remedy.”
But in this case, the court pointed to other options. The House of Representatives could attempt to impeach Hiett. The state Ethics Commission could investigate a complaint against him. Decisions made in the three rate cases at hand could also be appealed.
Justice Douglas Combs wrote in his concurring opinion that the legislators didn’t have the standing to bring this complaint to the court because they aren’t involved in the rate case. The legislators leaned on their standing as ratepayers, but Combs wrote that ratepayers do not have standing in potential future decisions on rate cases.
The attorney representing the legislators before the Supreme Court said the legislators don’t feel the evidence is enough to remove Hiett from office. That’s why they only sought his disqualification from three cases.
But the legislators have filed a complaint against Hiett with the Ethics Commission.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
