A married Oklahoma judge accused of having affairs with two bailiffs says he should keep his job because sex is no longer as taboo as it once was thanks to shows like Sex and the City.
The state of Oklahoma is seeking to remove Garfield County Associate District Judge Brian Lovell from office over inappropriate relationships that allegedly culminated in him having sex with a woman in the courthouse.
Lovell admitted to a relationship with the first deputy that lasted from February 2011 to October of that year and included “relations at the Garfield County Courthouse during business hours,” according to a court filing in June. He denies that they had sex at the courthouse.
The second deputy told investigators in March that she had sex with the judge in the backseat of his car, in a courtroom bathroom and on a new table in his court office. The Oklahoman reported.
But Lovell’s lawyers sensationally claimed he should not be vindicated for his affairs because sex “is no longer the unforgivable sin it once was.” They pointed to highly sexualized references in popular culture, including Fifty Shades of Grey, Sex and the City, Marvin Gaye songs and Allen Ginsberg poems.
Oklahoma Judge Brian Lovell, pictured here in a September mugshot after being arrested for allegedly shooting into eight cars in Texas while driving his SUV, may be removed from the bench over sexual relationships he is accused of having with two sheriff’s deputies.
Lovell is an eccentric character who made headlines last September when he opened fire on parked cars in Texas after a woman blocked his way. When reporters visited his home, he answered the door shirtless.
The first deputy told investigators she was “proud” of the table they had sex on, adding, “But not for that reason.”
After she voluntarily resigned in 2011, a second sheriff was hired in her place. She allegedly began this relationship with Lovell in July or August 2023, which lasted until the fall.
The state Judicial Court, the body that filed the recall petition in late June, says the woman and Lovell frequently exchanged sexually explicit text messages and images with each other while both were working.
Their text messages are also alleged to have referenced their various sexual acts with each other, including meeting at the sheriff’s office.
Lovell and the sheriff allegedly discussed deleting their text messages, which he ended up doing on an unspecified date, according to court documents.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says it has recovered these incriminating messages, which serve as the basis for the case against the embattled judge.
In a motion to dismiss filed by his defense attorneys, Lovell neither admitted nor denied the sordid affair with the second sheriff, who has since resigned from her position.
Instead, he told the court that if the affair occurred, it was a “private sexual relationship between consenting adults.”
Lovell’s attorneys continued to argue that times have changed and sex is not something that should be stigmatized.
Lovell’s lawyers accused prosecutors pursuing his impeachment case of trying to humiliate him into resigning by exposing his alleged extramarital affairs.
“For nearly a century, the courts have expanded the rights of individuals to engage in private sexual relations without fear of government intrusion. In parallel with these advances in the courts has come a growing public perception that sex is no longer the unforgivable sin it once was,” her lawyers wrote.
They then referred to examples of media with positive sexual content.
In the same court document, Lovell’s attorneys argued that the state’s goal is to humiliate him “to the point that he voluntarily resigns.”
They also claimed the real reason Lovell’s firing is being pushed for is the alleged road rage incident he was involved in and a separate incident in which he is accused of shooting at his brother-in-law’s ranch.
His lawyers say these things are embarrassing for the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and that all the allegations of corruption and extramarital affairs are a sideshow.
While driving in Austin, Texas, in September 2023, Lovell was arrested after authorities said he recklessly opened fire on eight parked vehicles, crashing into at least one of them.
No one was injured by the gunfire.
A police affidavit provided further details about the alleged road rage incident involving Lovell.
After his arrest in Austin, Lovell answered the door shirtless when approached by a local reporter.
He offered no comment when asked about his arrest.
Kenneth Markes, Lovell’s brother-in-law, said someone fired shots directly at his home, nearly hitting his son. Lovell has been charged in connection with the crime.
The woman whose car was hit said Lovell crashed into her rear bumper, leading them to argue.
Lovell then allegedly “intentionally” hit the woman’s car a second time and attempted to push her vehicle into oncoming traffic.
He denied that any of the collisions were intentional, but told police he believed the woman had cut him off in traffic.
Lovell was later charged with another shooting that occurred months earlier at his brother-in-law’s home.
Kenneth Markes, the judge’s brother-in-law, said his son saw an unknown car outside his property in Oklahoma on Feb. 12, 2023. KFOR reported.
“Out here in the country, if you see an unfamiliar vehicle, you know it,” Markes said. “He walked over to another window to see if he was coming in and that’s when the shots rang out.”
The burst of gunfire hit a wall, a window and the oven. She said the bullets barely missed her son.
Lovell has not presided over a case since September 2023, when he was arrested for the Austin incident.
Lovell’s impeachment trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 2 at the Oklahoma Judicial Center in Oklahoma City.
Prosecutors are asking for him to be removed from office before his trial based on “indisputable” evidence that he lied throughout the course of the investigation.
The Court of Judiciary will consider this request on September 12.
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