Barris declined to comment beyond his statements in the motion.

The motion has frustrated defense lawyers with clients in Okmulgee County, with two attorneys telling the Tulsa World that Barris is trying to punish Adair for working to verify the testimony that law enforcement officers give in his courtroom.

“It’s going to cause a chilling effect, I think, on judges in the future being able to scrutinize an officer’s testimony like they would any other person in the courtroom,” said Okmulgee-based attorney Justin Mosteller, who has four clients due in Adair’s courtroom within the next month.

“This is what defense attorneys do,” he said. “If police officers are to be believed in every single case, I don’t understand why a defense attorney would ever be necessary.”

Tulsa attorney Jay Ramey represented three of the four defendants named in Barris’ motion, and had two clients with court dates on Wednesday, as well as two others within the upcoming week.

He said the halted proceedings are “problematic” for a county such as Okmulgee, which has only three judges. He said people who are in custody will have to wait even longer for resolutions despite their right to a speedy trial.