The Oklahoma Political News Service is reporting on tips from courthouse insiders that suggest Oklahoma City Judge Bill Graves may have been removed from the Oklahoma County criminal docket specifically to remove him from the case of the Oklahoma 3, which he has been assigned.

Graves has a reputation as a constitutionalist and a conservative, and therefore might not be the hanging judge Attorney General Drew Edmondson and the political establishmnet in the state desire.

Many speculate that Judge Graves is instead being punished for recent objections he expressed about a newly proposed Code of Judicial Conduct that would have, among other things, prohibited judges from belonging to groups that discriminated on the basis of “sexual orientation.”

In a letter to the Oklahoma Bar Association, Graves said that under the new rules judges would be prevented from belonging to the Boy Scouts and argued the code changes were promoting a “pro-homosexual” agenda.

We can’t know for certain what the reason behind this highly unusual move was, because Judge Vicki Robinson, who made the decision to throw the court into chaos, has now clammed up and is dodging media inquiries. Her order has drawn complaints from many quarters, including all seven judges now presiding over the criminal court.

Cynthia Viol, president of the Oklahoma County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, pointed out in a letter to Judge Robinson that her decision could have “severe logistical, financial and constitution consequences” on the county’s criminal justice system.

Looks like there is something rotten going on in Oklahoma, again.

Read the Oklahoma News Service report.

Read more about Judge Gray’s removal in the Tulsa World.