OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in a case brought by three lawmakers who believe Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett should be disqualified from taking part in commission business, including decision making involving utility rates paid by Oklahomans for gas and electricity.

Hiett has been accused of sexually groping a man while drunk in a hotel bar last June in Minneapolis. The two men were there for a professional conference attended by utility company officials and state regulators from Oklahoma and other states. The man Hiett allegedly groped was identified by witnesses as a lawyer who represents a company regulated by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

The three state lawmakers, Reps. Tom Gann, Kevin West and Rick West, all Republicans, filed paperwork on Sept. 13 asking the court to issue an order prohibiting Hiett from casting votes in cases involving Oklahoma Natural Gas, Oklahoma Gas & Electric and Public Service Co. of Oklahoma. They asserted that Hiett’s position as a state official had been compromised and that any judgment he might make in a rate case or any other should be considered “tainted” and subject to appeal.

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Hiett, also a Republican, is a former speaker of the House of Representatives.

During Tuesday’s roughly hourlong hearing in the Supreme Court’s chambers at the State Capitol, attorney Stephen Jones, representing the three lawmakers, and Joe White, representing Hiett, didn’t argue over specifics of the allegations but rather over whether the Supreme Court was the proper venue for the case. Justices were asked whether the state’s Ethics Commission might be more appropriate, or whether it should be taken up by the Legislature as part of an impeachment proceeding.

“We have a situation in which a commissioner conducted himself, allegedly, grossly improperly in a public building, in a hotel around other members of other state regulators and commissioners (and) companies that have appeared before him and his own employees, and I think it’s fair to say no one has done anything about that,” Jones said.

Jones contended that the Supreme Court has acted in the past to disqualify a commissioner and that courts have in other states as well.

White countered that the court was being asked to make a judgment based on evidence that has never been presented or weighed in a legal setting.

“This proceeding provides no due process, none, to my client,” Hiett’s attorney said. “That’s why I talk about conjecture and speculation, because I’ve had no benefit of discovery, no putting people under oath.”

He suggested that the three state lawmakers should first take the case to colleagues in the Legislature.

“What they are requesting this court to do is to issue a blanket order disqualifying Commissioner Hiett without any hearing that is judicial in nature,” White said. “This request would effectively remove Mr. Hiett from his office, to which he was duly elected. This is an improper request.”

White went on to say that the case that the court was asked to consider involved only “unproven allegations made anonymously.”

“Commissioner Hiett does not know who these individuals are, nor what they’ve alleged,” he said.

In previous comments to the media, Hiett did not deny the allegations as reported, but he said he did not remember what happened in the hotel bar and insisted that he was probably just joking around. He also said that he had sought out help for a problem with alcohol.

In questions posed to the attorneys, some of the Supreme Court justices seemed to express doubts that Hiett should be barred from taking part in Corporation Commission business based on the case as presented.

Jones pointed out that, earlier in the day, the lawmakers had filed a supplement to their original petition. It included witness statements about the alleged incident in Minnesota.

“No matter how it’s dressed up, that’s what the witnesses said,” Jones said.

It is unclear when a decision might be handed down by the court.

Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony, who also has called on Hiett to be barred from participating in commission business, issued a statement after the hearing.

“Today, in response to a question from Chief Justice Kane, Commissioner Hiett’s attorney agreed that Hiett is ‘bound by’ both Ethics Rule 4.7 and Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.11.  The simple reading of those laws is clear: Where a reasonable person would question Hiett’s impartiality in a matter/proceeding, Hiett must disqualify himself.  Not doing so violates the law, whether the cases are legislative or judicial.

“Regardless of how the Court rules on this petition, Oklahoma utility customers owe a debt of gratitude to State Reps. Tom Gann, Kevin West and Rick West for their willingness to stand up for what’s right — and not just with words, but with action.”

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Defense attorneys for the Tacoma police officers on trial for the in-custody death of a Black man cross-examined prosecutors’ forensic video expert Thursday morning.

Attorneys for officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew Collins pressed forensic video expert Grant Fredericks on how Manuel Ellis’ reacted in the seconds before he was first shocked with a Taser, and they questioned him about what can be heard in video of Ellis’ encounter with the officers.

attorney Wayne Fricke, left, questions Grant Fredericks, a video forensic expert, right, during the trial of Tacoma Police Officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine in the killing of Manny Ellis at Pierce County Superior Court , Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash. (John Froschauer/Pool Photo AP)” title=”231004-jf-ellis trial-543.jpg” loading=”lazy”/> Defense attorney Wayne Fricke, left, questions Grant Fredericks, a video forensic expert, right, during the trial of Tacoma Police Officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine in the killing of Manny Ellis at Pierce County Superior Court , Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash. (John Froschauer/Pool Photo AP) John Froschauer AP

Ellis, 33, died of oxygen deprivation after encountering police the night of March 3, 2020, the Pierce County medical examiner ruled. Prosecutors with the Washington attorney General’s Office have said officers attacked and restrained Ellis without justification. Defense attorneys say the officers simply responded after Ellis attacked their patrol car, and they have focused on the high amount of methamphetamine in his system as an explanation for his death.

Collins, 40, Burbank, 38 and the third officer charged, Timothy Rankine, 34, remain employed by the Tacoma Police Department on paid leave while they’re on trial. Collins and Burbank are charged with second-degree murder; all three officers are charged with first-degree manslaughter. They have all pleaded not guilty.

After prosecutors on Wednesday elicited testimony from Fredericks saying Ellis had his hands in the air before Burbank shot his Taser at him, Wayne Fricke, an attorney for the officer, asked Fredericks if a single frame showing Ellis in that position could be misleading.

“It means nothing unless you have it in context,” Fricke said while he asked the question.

attorney Wayne Fricke during the trial of Tacoma Police Officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine in the killing of Manny Ellis at Pierce County Superior Court , Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash. (John Froschauer/Pool Photo AP)” title=”231004-jf-ellis trial-848.jpg” loading=”lazy”/> Grant Fredericks, a video forensic expert answers questions by defense attorney Wayne Fricke during the trial of Tacoma Police Officers Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine in the killing of Manny Ellis at Pierce County Superior Court , Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Tacoma, Wash. (John Froschauer/Pool Photo AP) John Froschauer AP

The expert witness disagreed, telling jurors there were two times where Ellis raised his hands, palms out, in front of his body. Fricke went on to ask Fredericks when Ellis put his hands down, and how much time passed until the first Taser was shot. Fredericks said it was 3.3 seconds.

“Almost simultaneously,” Fricke said.

“3.3 seconds,” Fredericks replied.

Jared Ausserer, an attorney for Collins, questioned Fredericks next, asking him if he could hear someone growl and say, “Try it again,” before Burbank shocked Ellis with a Taser a second time, which was shown in a delivery driver’s eyewitness video of the incident. The expert witness said he didn’t know if he’d characterize the sound as a growl and wasn’t sure what was said.

“I heard the word ‘try,’” Fredericks said. “But is he saying, ‘I’m trying,’ or ‘Try it again,’ I don’t know.”

Earlier in the morning, Fricke questioned Fredericks about a 27-minute gap in doorbell security video of the street corner where Ellis encountered the officers — 96th Street and Ainsworth Avenue in Tacoma — and his methodology for determining a timeline of the events that occurred that night.

Defense attorneys played the first clip from that doorbell video for jurors, which showed a quiet street and a few cars driving by. Fredericks agreed with Fricke that 27 minutes passed until the doorbell started recording again and showed officers’ patrol cars and other witnesses already on the scene. Fricke said that means no video shows Ellis walking down the street or Collins’ and Burbank’s initial encounter with him. Fredericks agreed.

Prosecutors will continue to question Fredericks on Thursday afternoon in re-direct examination. Ellis’ sister and mother, Monét Carter-Mixon and Marcia Carter-Patterson, are scheduled to testify next for the prosecution.

The News Tribune and Seattle Times are working together to provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of this trial. This report was compiled by Peter Talbot of The News Tribune.

This story was originally published October 5, 2023, 12:27 PM.

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Peter Talbot is a criminal justice reporter for The News Tribune. He started with the newspaper in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C. He also interned for the Oregonian and the Tampa Bay Times.

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