Judge Accused of Indecent Exposure Wants Special Prosecutor Removed

Judge Accused of Indecent Exposure Wants Special Prosecutor Removed
The Associated Press and New York Lawyer - July 18, 2008

A state appellate court has been asked to remove a special prosecutor in the case of a Tulsa County district judge accused of indecent exposure. Lawyers for Judge Jesse Harris asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Thursday to order Osage County District Judge M. John Kane IV to disqualify Washington County District Attorney Rick Esser and his staff. Court papers filed by Harris' attorneys say the appeals court should allow oral arguments addressing issues of misconduct that affect not only Harris' rights but also the appearance of fairness in the state's criminal processes. Kane denied the disqualification request last month, saying the facts show credible responses from the prosecution to the issues presented by Harris. Defense attorneys Joel Wohlgemuth and Allen Smallwood claim Esser's office engaged in an abuse of power in an attempt to force Harris from the bench.

Harris has not been arraigned on a two-count indecent exposure charge, and no preliminary hearing is scheduled. Those matters are likely to be delayed until the appeals court resolves the disqualification request. In March, the state Office of the Attorney General appointed Esser to evaluate the accusations that resulted in the felony counts being filed in April. The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office was excused from the matter. Harris is accused of exposing himself to two women in March in the parking lot of a Tulsa motel. He denies the allegations. One of the women is identified as his ex-girlfriend; the other, her friend, is in the Tulsa Jail with two unresolved felony DUI charges. Harris filed a civil lawsuit against the two women last month, alleging that they slandered and libeled him. Tulsa County Presiding District Judge Michael Gassett has asked state Supreme Court Chief Justice James Winchester to appoint an out-of-county judge to handle that civil case.