Epic Charter School co-founders David Chaney, left, and Ben Harris, right, attend a preliminary hearing March 27 at the Oklahoma County Courthouse. Completion of the hearing has been on hold for several months. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
Editor’s note: This story is part of Oklahoma Voice’s “Whatever Happened To …” end-of-year series that provides updates to some stories that captured the interest of Oklahomans in 2023 and 2024.
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied a third and final request to remove a judge from the major embezzlement case against the co-founders of Epic Charter School, potentially ending a dispute that has sidetracked the proceedings for months.
The appeals court decided Friday that it wouldn’t consider the request from defense attorney Joe White to disqualify Oklahoma County District Judge Susan Stallings because it wasn’t filed in the appropriate timeframe.
White, representing Epic co-founder Ben Harris, filed on Nov. 8 an uncommon third attempt to kick the judge off the case, accusing Stallings of unfairly favoring the prosecution. His disqualification requests had been denied twice in district court before he took the matter to the Court of Criminal Appeals.