The Oklahoma Bar Journal May 2023

O KLAHOMANS WERE EMBARRASSED AND HUMILIATED by a court scandal in the 1960s when three justices of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma were forced out of office and disgraced.

leaders in the state Capitol and the citizens was shocked. 3 How Blankenship received the sworn statement of former Justice Corn is like a tangled TV mys tery. In January 1965, U.S. District Judge Stephen S. Chandler made a surprise visit to the home of Supreme Court Justice William A. Berry and handed him a copy of Corn’s statement, calling it, “Corn’s confession.” 4 Judge Chandler never told even his closest friends who gave him a copy of Corn’s state ment, but as a federal judge, he was aware of the federal grand jury investigation of justices for income tax evasion. Chandler also worked in the federal courthouse with the court reporter who took the sworn statement. 5 Justice Berry felt sick to his stomach as he read the confession of his former colleague. He said, “Described here were the actions of three justices, impugning the integrity of the whole court, and vio lating the very canons of truth and fairness.” Corn admitted there was

never a year in his 25 years on the court when he did not take a bribe. 6

It was a dark day for the state on Jan. 21, 1965, when young state Rep. G.T. Blankenship, R-Oklahoma City, asked to speak to his fellow House members about “something of great concern.” Blankenship read a summary of a sworn statement given six weeks before by 80-year old former Supreme Court Justice N.S. Corn, who was serving a federal prison term for income tax evasion. 1 An uneasy quietness settled over the House chamber as Blankenship described Corn’s admission that he, as a justice of the Supreme Court, and two other justices had taken bribes for 25 years to rig votes on cases on appeal. In a 1957 case, Corn took $150,000, paid in $100 bills, to influence the Supreme Court’s decision in Selected Investments Corp. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission . 2 Corn revealed he paid Justices Earl Welch and Napoleon Bonaparte Johnson $7,500 each to help him form a majority. As Blankenship contin ued, House Speaker J.D. McCarty, a powerful Democratic leader, was visibly shaken. The conscience of

MAKING THE ALLEGATIONS PUBLIC

Justice Berry knew the bribery accusations must be made public, but his lawyer friends who would share his disgust with the situa tion would not want to make the charges public for fear that power ful attorneys implicated by Corn’s statement would immediately sue them. Berry had a brilliant idea. He was aware that members of the state Legislature were immune from slander lawsuits for state ments made during a legislative session. He set up a secret meeting with Rep. Blankenship who copied excerpts from Corn’s statement onto a legal pad. Even though Rep. Blankenship’s wife was opposed to the move, he later said, “One of the reasons you run for public office is to perform a service that needs to be accom plished. I can’t run from this.” 7

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.

MAY 2023 | 27

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL