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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2, 2018
Governor Mary Fallin Appoints Kenneth Stoner as an Oklahoma County District Judge
OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin today announced the
appointment of Kenneth Morgan Stoner to fill
the Office 4 district judge vacancy in Oklahoma County. He is replacing former District
Judge Bryan Dixon, who retired last year after serving 31 years on the bench.
Stoner’s appointment is effective
immediately. A swearing-in ceremony will be scheduled later.
Stoner, of
Oklahoma City, has been in private practice since 2006, focusing on matters including
corporate, entertainment, and criminal law. In
the last several years, Stoner has concentrated on working with clients
suffering from addiction and mental health issues, and has earned distinction
for his innovative approach to handling such cases. He began his legal career in 2001 in the Oklahoma County
district attorney’s office serving as a prosecutor on the domestic violence
task force. He later became a general
felony prosecutor.
“Kenneth Stoner is a
skilled attorney who has a wealth of experience in the law and criminal
proceedings,” said Fallin. “His expertise and knowledge in working with those
who have been charged with crimes related to untreated mental illness- and
substance abuse-related offenses will help ensure they receive treatment and
appropriate care. He also understands the need for nonviolent defendants to
have an opportunity to reclaim their lives while adhering to
treatment-compliance demands of the court.”
Stoner earned a degree in business administration
from East Central University. He earned
his juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
“It’s a great honor to have the opportunity to
serve and I’m grateful for Governor Fallin’s confidence in me,” Stoner said.
“My primary motivation for seeking the position is to provide leadership to our
drug, mental health and diversion courts. We are certainly moving in the right
direction, but more can be done to strengthen and expand these courts. I
believe the right conditions exist for us to create nationally recognized
programs in these critical areas. We need to build additional public-private
partnerships and explore ways that technology can help. Addiction is the public
health crisis of our time, and is a significant underlying factor in the
majority of cases at our courthouse. We can’t wait for somebody else to solve
this problem for us. We have to be responsibly creative and innovate in this
area.”
Stoner is on the board of directors for the
Oklahoma County Bar Association and the UPTown 23rd Development
District. He is a member of the Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association, Addiction
and Mental Health Professionals of Oklahoma, and Lawyers against Domestic
Abuse. He is also active in Parents Helping Parents, and Troop 78 of the Boy
Scouts of America.
“In the last 10 years, scientific research has
discovered more about the human brain and causes of our behavior than in all of
history combined,” he said. “In some way, our approach to addiction has been
stuck in models that have not evolved with research. We are experiencing a
watershed moment where we are beginning to embrace a paradigm shift, moving to
a more effective understanding of addiction and recovery.”
Stoner said he was brought up in a culture of
service to his state and country.
“My great-great grandfather, Dick T. Morgan, was
elected to five terms as a congressman from Oklahoma, serving from 1909 to
1920,” he said. “President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him to oversee the
federal land offices where the land runners would register their claims. My
other great-great grandfather, Elias McLeod Landrum, was a leader of the
Cherokee Nation who also served in the first Oklahoma Senate.”
Stoner, a member of the Cherokee Nation, and his wife, Barbara, reside in the Oakdale area of
Oklahoma City with their sons, Maxwell, Will and Sam. His wife is also an
attorney, serving as a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernard Jones.
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 Kenneth Stoner
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