APRIL 2025 | 31 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. THE GOVERNOR OF OKLAHOMA IS THE “CHIEF MAGISTRATE” of the state government,1 directly elected by the people of Oklahoma and charged by the Oklahoma Constitution with the duty of “caus[ing] the laws of the State to be faithfully executed.”2 The people also elect an attorney general, whom the Legislature has declared the “chief law officer of the state,”3 with statutory authority to “take and assume control” of any litigation involving the state.4 These competing authorities inevitably lead to conflict between Oklahoma’s top executive officials. The proper division of power between the governor and the attorney general is no mere matter of arcane political interest. It is a question of paramount constitutional significance that directly impacts the liberty of all Oklahomans. SEPARATION OF POWERS The republic of Oklahoma has endured for over a century because of its governmental structure. The state’s founding fathers believed the separation of governmental power was essential to securing freedom.5 Although this principle is visible in the traditional separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial branches, the state constitution provides a double layer of protection. Not only is power at the state government level divided externally between the three branches,6 it is also divided internally between the officers who make up those branches. This internal division of power is a fundamental principle of constitutional order. When the constitution prescribes a particular function is to be performed by a given officer, then the “exercise and discharge [of that function] by any other officer [is] forbidden.”7 Allowing an officer to perform functions not pertaining to their office causes “the whole constitutional fabric [to be] undermined and destroyed.”8 The constitution’s double layer of protection is most evident through the structure of the state’s executive branch. In contrast to the unitary executive of the U.S. Constitution that vests all executive power in the president of the United States alone,9 Oklahoma employs a plural executive, in which executive power is dispersed between 11 statewide elected officials, among them being the governor and the attorney general.10 Under this structure, the constitution “confer[s] upon [the attorney general] certain powers and duties independent of the Governor.”11 The attorney general is neither “the
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