Five applicants for the position of District Judge in Lincoln County are to be interviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission next Tuesday, June 4.
The five individuals who applied for the position include Sarah Lynne Bridge, Joseph Alan Dobry, Emily Jean Mueller, Mark James Pordos and Zachary Allen Privott, all of Chandler.
Mueller currently serves as Special Judge in Lincoln and Pottawatomie Counties and Dobry, an attorney, ran for the District Judge position in 2022 but lost to former District Judge Traci Soderstrom who resigned Feb. 9, 2024 creating the vacancy.
Soderstrom was suspended in October of 2023 when the State Supreme Court filed a petition seeking her removal from office.
Bridge, Pordos and Privott are attorneys in Lincoln County.
Immediately following the interviews on June 4, the JNC will provide Gov. Kevin Stitt a list of three nominees. The governor will then have 60 days to make an appointment from those nominees, according to the JNC.
In a release it’s stated that the JNC strongly encourages the public to continue submitting comments on the five applicants. They may be mailed to: Administrative Office of the Courts Attn: Gina Antipov 2100 N. Lincoln, Suite 3 Oklahoma City, OK 73105 and/or James Bland Chair, Judicial Nominating Commission 17 East Carl Albert Parkway McAlester, Oklahoma 74501