Jett, 40, is a lawyer from northwest Oklahoma with a track record of defending agricultural interests, justifying religion in government and fighting against Medicaid expansion in the state.
He has never been a judge before.
"He is well respected in the legal community and the agricultural community," Stitt said. "He has spent his life and career serving Oklahoma through the FFA and his legal practice."
Stitt called his appointee a man of integrity and wisdom, and an "absolute legend" in Oklahoma's Future Farmers of America circles.
"So as he takes a seat on the bench, I look forward to his prudent interpretation of the Constitution and the new energy he brings to the court," Stitt said. "He'll be applying the law as written, and he's going to be a good steward of this honor."
Jett is Stitt's fourth appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Following the governor's remarks, the new justice shared a few of his own words.
"It's a responsibility that I don't take lightly, and I'm committed to using all of my abilities to make sure that the law is applied in a fair, predictable and just manner," Jett said. "I look forward to serving this state. I'll fulfill my duties with great humility, and I could not be prouder to accept the appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court."
Neither Jett nor Stitt answered questions from reporters at the appointment announcement.
Stitt's two other choices were Oklahoma's Judicial District 2 Judge Donna Dirickson, whom Stitt appointed to that role last year, and Judicial District 1 Judge Jon Parsley, appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin in 2014.
The decision comes amidst active legislative efforts to reform the state's Judicial Nominating Commission, a group of mostly Stitt appointees who vet and recommend judicial candidates for state-level appellate and district courts.
Republicans in the legislature and the right-leaning think tank the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, or OCPA, argue the current process allows the governor to wield too much power over high court appointments and is too sheltered from public scrutiny.
Jett represented the OCPA when the group tried to stop State Question 802, also known as Medicaid expansion, from appearing on a ballot before Oklahomans. Jett's team, which argued the policy summary that eventually appeared on the ballot was inaccurate, lost its case.
The state question eventually passed.
