With help from advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 30 parents, teachers and faith leaders filed a lawsuit against Walters and the state Board of Education last month. The suit asks the Oklahoma Supreme Court to stop Walters from requiring Oklahoma teachers to instruct from the Bible.
Justice Dana Kuehn recused herself from the case Friday, citing the Oklahoma Code of Judicial Conduct rule prohibiting the “appearance of impropriety.” Her filing said she needed to recuse due to the involvement of the Board of Education’s legal representation.
Kuehn did not offer additional details, but this rule is generally used to prevent conflicts of interest or the appearance of bias.
The Board of Education is represented in this case by Tulsa firm Norman Wohlgemuth. Three of the firm’s attorneys filed notices they’d be appearing before the court. One of them, David J. Anderson, lists a three-month clerkship under Kuehn in 2022 on his LinkedIn profile.
Anderson’s co-counsel Joel Wohlgemuth declined to comment for this story.
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