An Oklahoma County district judge on Thursday denied a motion to disqualify her from overseeing a major embezzlement case against the co-founders of Epic Charter School. The matter will be appealed to the chief judge at the Oklahoma County Courthouse. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY — A judge presiding over the major embezzlement case against the co-founders of Epic Charter School faces a call to recuse, with a defense attorney accusing her of being an “advocate for the prosecution.”
District Judge Susan Stallings denied the request for her disqualification during a hearing Thursday at the Oklahoma County Courthouse. Both she and prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Office disagreed with the defense’s argument that she is unable to be impartial.
“The court finds there were a lot of assumptions made but no facts,” Stallings said.
Defense attorney Joe White, who filed the motion, said he intends to appeal Stallings’ decision. First, the matter would come before the chief judge in Oklahoma County, a responsibility the district judges share on a rotating basis. Then, if rejected again, White could raise it to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.