A married Oklahoma judge accused of having an affair with two bailiffs says he should keep his job because sex is no longer as taboo as it once was, thanks to shows like Sex and the City.
The state of Oklahoma is seeking to remove Garfield County District Judge Brian Lovell from office over inappropriate relationships that allegedly led to him having sex with one of them in court.
Lovell admitted to a relationship with the first female bailiff that lasted from February 2011 to October of that year and involved “liaisons in the Garfield County Courthouse during court hours,” according to a June filing. He denies they had sex in the courthouse.
The second bailiff told investigators in March that she had sex with the judge in the backseat of her car, in the courthouse bathroom and on a new table in her courthouse office. The Oklahoman reported.
But Lovell’s lawyers sensationally argued that he should not be acquitted of the affairs because sex “is no longer the unforgivable sin it once was.” They pointed to highly sexualized references in popular culture, including: Fifty Shades of Grey, Sex and the City, songs by Marvin Gaye and poems by Allen Ginsberg.
Oklahoma Judge Brian Lovell, shown here in an arrest photo in September after he was arrested for allegedly shooting into eight cars in Texas while driving his SUV, could be removed from office over alleged sexual affairs he had with two female bailiffs.
Lovell is an eccentric character who made headlines last September when he opened fire on parked cars in Texas after a woman cut him off. When reporters visited his home, he answered the door without a shirt on.
The first bailiff told investigators she was “proud” of the table they had sex on, adding: “But not for that reason.”
After she voluntarily resigned in 2011, the second bailiff was hired in her place. She reportedly began this relationship with Lovell in July or August 2023, which lasted into the fall.
According to the state Justice Department, the agency that filed the eviction request in late June, the woman and Lovell regularly exchanged sexually explicit text messages and images while they were both at work.
It is also alleged that their text messages contained references to various sexual acts with each other, including their meeting at the bailiff’s office.
Lovell and the bailiff reportedly discussed deleting their posts, and court documents show he eventually did so at an unknown time.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says it has recovered the incriminating messages, which serve as the basis for its case against the beleaguered judge.
In a motion to dismiss his defense, Lovell neither admitted nor denied the gruesome affair with the second bailiff. She has since resigned.
Instead, he told the court that if the affair had actually taken place, it involved a “private sexual relationship between consenting adults”.
Lovell’s lawyers argued that times have changed and sex is no longer a stigma.
Lovell’s lawyers accused prosecutors who brought the case against him of trying to humiliate him into resigning by dredging up his alleged extramarital affairs.
“For nearly a century, case law has expanded the rights of individuals to engage in sexual acts in private without fear of government interference. Parallel to these developments in case law is the public perception that sex is no longer the unforgivable sin it once was,” his lawyers wrote.
They then pointed to examples of sex-positive media.
In the same court document, Lovell’s attorneys alleged that the state’s goal is to humiliate him “to the point that he will voluntarily resign.”
They also claimed that the real reason Lovell’s firing is being delayed is the alleged road rage incident he was involved in and another incident in which he is accused of shooting at his brother-in-law’s ranch.
According to his lawyers, these cases are embarrassing for the Oklahoma Supreme Court and all allegations of corruption and extramarital affairs are secondary.
While driving in Austin, Texas, in September 2023, Lovell was arrested after authorities said he recklessly opened fire on eight parked vehicles, striking at least one of them.
No one was injured by the gunfire.
A police statement provided further details about the alleged road rage incident involving Lovell
After his arrest in Austin, Lovell answered the door without his shirt on when he was approached by a local news reporter
He did not comment when asked about his arrest
Kenneth Markes, Lovell’s brother-in-law, said someone fired directly into his home, nearly hitting his son. Lovell was charged in connection with the crime
The woman whose car he hit said Lovell hit her rear bumper and they got into an argument.
Lovell then allegedly “intentionally” hit the woman’s car a second time and attempted to push her vehicle into the oncoming lane.
He denied that the collisions were intentional, but told police he was convinced the woman had cut him off in traffic.
Lovell was subsequently charged in another drive-by shooting that had occurred at his brother-in-law’s home several months earlier.
Kenneth Markes, the judge’s brother-in-law, said his son saw an unfamiliar car outside their Oklahoma property on Feb. 12, 2023, KVOR reported.
“Out here in the country, you know when you see an unknown vehicle,” Markes said. “He went to another window to see if it was going in and that’s when shots were fired.”
The volley of gunfire hit a wall, a window and the oven. He said the bullets narrowly missed his son.
Lovell has not been in court since September 2023, when he was arrested for the Austin incident.
Lovell’s trial is expected to begin Dec. 2 at the Oklahoma Judicial Center in Oklahoma City.
The Public Prosecution Service is demanding that he be removed from office before his trial, based on “undisputed” evidence that he lied during the investigation.
The Court of Justice will hear this request on September 12.