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When Ron Dzekan walked into the Oklahoma State Capitol with cameras rolling, the Bar Association lobbyists weren't expecting what came next. The suspended attorney had arrived with a simple mission: expose the hypocrisy of an organization that silenced him for speaking out about judicial corruption while refusing to investigate lawyers facing dozens of felony charges.
The Suspension That Started It All
Dzekan, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan, found himself suspended from practicing law after criticizing judicial corruption publicly. The Oklahoma Supreme Court deemed him "a risk to the public" for his outspoken commentary about drunk judges and Bar Association failures. Meanwhile, he points out, Judge Sharon Holmes, who was allegedly caught on camera drinking and driving with her grandchild, remains on the bench.
The irony wasn't lost on him as he prepared to confront the very organization that suspended him while they lobbied to maintain their grip on judicial appointments.
Federal Indictments the Bar Won't Touch
Armed with fresh documentation from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Dzekan carried evidence of what he calls the Bar Association's most glaring failure. Attorney Matt Stacy had just been charged with additional federal crimes related to fraudulent schemes and black market marijuana operations, bringing his total to over 40 felony indictments. Yet despite Dzekan's repeated attempts to get the Bar to investigate Stacy and three other lawyers over the past five years, the organization has taken no action.
"I have letters from the Bar Association refusing to investigate these attorneys," Dzekan explained to anyone who would listen in the capitol halls. The documentation he waved showed a pattern of willful blindness that undermines their claims of professional oversight.
When Lobbyists Meet Their Critics
The confrontation began when Dzekan approached Bar Association representatives distributing materials about maintaining the current judicial nomination process. Under the existing system, a secretive committee dominated by Bar Association members interviews candidates and sends only three names to the governor, who must choose from that limited pool.
One lobbyist, claiming to be a military officer, engaged in a heated exchange with Dzekan about the failures of the current system. When the conversation turned to their respective military service, tensions escalated quickly. "I never saw an officer actually solve a problem," Dzekan shot back, his frustration with both military and legal bureaucracy boiling over.
The Power Struggle Behind Closed Doors
The legislature is considering changing to a federal-style system where the governor could nominate any qualified attorney, subject to Senate confirmation. This would give voters a voice through their elected senators rather than leaving the process to Bar Association insiders meeting in secret.
Executive Director Janet Johnson and other Bar officials refused to answer questions about why lawyers under federal indictment remain uninvestigated while someone like Dzekan gets suspended for public criticism. When pressed about equal treatment of members, Johnson simply walked away, unwilling to address the contradictions on camera.
The Veteran's Last Stand
Throughout the confrontations, Dzekan's military service colored his approach to the systemic problems he's fighting. "I'm 34 and I've been kicked in the nuts by my government since I was 18," he told one legislator. "I got sent to a war where I watched six of my friends die just for my government to give it back."
His team leader from Afghanistan later took his own life, part of what Dzekan describes as receiving multiple calls per year about veteran suicides. The personal stakes of fighting corruption aren't abstract for him.
What the Cameras Didn't Catch
As the day wound down, Dzekan revealed that not everything made it onto the livestream. A supportive representative had pulled him aside off-camera with a message: "Come get with me and we're going to mess their world up." The suggestion that allies exist within the system provides hope that change might be possible through official channels.
But the final outcome of this legislative battle remains unclear, and the Bar Association's response to the public pressure is still unfolding.
Watch the full confrontation unfold and see how the Bar Association responds when their failures are exposed in the people's house.
