Published: October 24, 2008 12:41 pm         

There’s a new judge in town

• Governor appoints Noble County assistant district attorney as associate district judge

Gov. Brad Henry appointed Steve Kistler as associate district judge for the 9th Judicial District in Payne County on Thursday.

Kistler, a Stillwater resident and graduate of Oklahoma State University, is serving as assistant district attorney for Noble County. He has been a practicing lawyer for nearly 30 years and spent three years working for the FBI in New York City and New Orleans.

He said he thought the assistant district judge position was a “natural progression” in his career.

“I consider it a great honor,” Kistler said. “I hope to well serve the people of Payne County and live up to the trust that the governor has placed in me.”

Henry chose Kistler from a pool of three individuals who were recommended by the Judicial Nominating Commission.

“He possesses the integrity, temperament and breath of experience essential to be a truly outstanding jurist,” Henry wrote in a press release.

Kistler will succeed Robert Murphy, who resigned to run for the Oklahoma Senate. Murphy told the NewsPress in June that he would not reapply for the job, but he did reapply in August.

Payne County Court Clerk Lisa Lambert said the other judges have been sharing cases since Murphy left.

“It really has been a challenge for the judges to keep the case load moving,” she said. “We are a busy county, so it will be nice to have an additional judge in the rotation.”

Lambert said the judges will decide how cases will be divided once Kistler starts. The new judge will probably handle juvenile and mental health cases, she added, and responsibilities for the other types of cases would likely be split among the judges.

Kistler said he will have to make arrangements with Noble County before beginning work for Payne County, but he will probably start within two to four weeks.

The associate district judge position is a four-year term. There are about two years left to this term, which began in 2006.

     

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