Garfield Co. Judge Resigns Due To Medical Diagnosis Amid Shooting, Misconduct Allegations

An Oklahoma judge accused of involvement in two separate shootings and sexual misconduct has resigned due to a health condition impacting his brain, his attorney says.

Garfield County District Judge Brian Lovell has been accused of being involved in two drive-by shootings and has also been accused of sexual misconduct after two bailiffs at his courthouse came forward with allegations against Lovell.

He submitted his resignation on Monday, Sept. 9, his lead attorney Stephen Jones said.

"The resignation was because of the medical diagnosis of malignant thyroid cancer and frontotemporal dementia," Jones said. "He was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia by Dr. Jason Beaman who was just recently appointed to be the Chief Medical Officer of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health. Judge Lovell recognized that the diagnosis is very serious. It explains some of the out-of-character bizarre behavior attributed to him. There is no cure for it. And it will be with him until death. So he could not return to the bench. It was his unilateral decision to resign because of health reasons. It was not because of any agreement with the prosecution before the Court on the Judiciary. But for the diagnosis, we would go to trial defending him.

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