The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) is making headlines this week when it became public that their Assistant General Counsel Attorney Stephen Sullins has been accused of witness tampering, coordinating testimony and in one case, telling a ten year former girlfriend of an attorney Jeff Krigel (attorney) of Tulsa, Oklahoma that the attorney ‘drugs’ and ‘rapes’ women in order to coerce the former girlfriend to file a bar complaint. It is thought that Sullins conspired with the attorney’s ex-wife, Stephanie Duran, herself an attorney in order to assist her in stealing custody of the man’s eight year old minor child. In that matter the attorney has been a single dad for six years sharing 50/50 custody.
According to witnesses, Sullins contacted women who haven’t seen the attorney in question for five and ten years supposedly at the ‘recommendation’ of the attorney’s ex-wife. The OBA asks two women to file complaints but calls one back and tells her it has ‘been too long’ (ten years). Six months later prior to April 27th, 2021, she relates Sullins contacts her again and says now the attorney ‘drugs’ and ‘rapes’ women.
Two days later attorney’s three year live in girlfriend will ‘drink water’ and ‘not remember’ inferring non consensual sex and go for a SANE exam five days after that. The girlfriend (now obviously ex) came to find the attorney because as she reports to police she was contacted ‘a few days earlier’ by Duran and told that the attorney is a cheater and the Bar (Sullins) will be contacting her. According to filings Sullins is noted in the police report as the ‘origin of the complaint’ something that would violate OBA rules.
Sullins recently prosecuted McAlester attorney Brecken Wagner who was convicted of a fine only in a case of falsely filing a police report. Wagner was convicted when a Pittsburg County jury decided he wrongfully used 911 in order to report police officers for trespassing as they were executing a deficient search warrant. The Supreme Court refused to impose any discipline noting the absurdity of the underlying criminal offense, the paperwork was deficient.
The Tulsa World noted this session the legislature considered dissolving the Judicial Nominating Committee, a group that makes final recommendations on who the governor may appoint to a judgeship, allowing the governor to straight appoint attorneys to judgeships. In that same legislation is language to remove the OBA from the ability to ensure attorneys for conduct outside of a courtroom.
