Oklahoma Bar Association Seeking To Discipline Judge Accused Of Sexual Misconduct

A new complaint has been filed against an Oklahoma County judge accused of sexual misconduct. The complaint was filed by the Oklahoma Bar Association, against Judge Tim Henderson.

In the court documents, the Oklahoma Bar Association says Henderson’s actions “constituted professional misconduct,” violating several rules that judges are expected to follow.

Henderson began his tenure as an Oklahoma County judge in 2012, but resigned in 2021, after three female attorneys accused him of sexual misconduct. This led to hundreds of Henderson’s cases being brought into question, two of which have been overturned so far.

Convicted murderer Robert Hashagen was the most recent sentence to be overturned. Hashagen’s murder sentence was overturned last month, after his attorney’s argued he didn’t get a fair trial due to the relationship between Judge Henderson and the assistant DA on the case.

Related: Judge’s Alleged Affair Leads To Overturning Of Murder Conviction

Now the Bar Association is asking that Henderson be disciplined. We spoke with News 9’s Legal Analyst, Irven Box, about what this means for Henderson.

“They said what he did was deceitful, dishonest and unfair to the litigants,” said Box. “This is going to be costly to the state. It’s bad for the whole profession to think that a DA and a judge were having a relationship with other litigants before him whose lives were at stake.”

The OSBI investigated the claims against Judge Henderson, but no charges were ever filed.

Henderson’s case will now have a public hearing where they will decide whether or not to send the case to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. From there, the state supreme court can decide what Henderson’s punishment would be, which could include disbarment.