Cleveland County sheriff's request for private counsel amid state audit was rejected

NORMAN — Cleveland County commissioners are rejecting Sheriff Chris Amason's request to hire an attorney to represent his office amid an audit by the state .

The sheriff had requested Plaxico Law Firm to represent him and his office regarding an investigative state audit looking into his spending of funds for the 2024 fiscal year.

According to a professional services agreement letter dated July 24, hourly rates for the Plaxico firm range from $200 to $350, with $65 an hour for paralegals. Oklahoma City-based attorney Cheryl Plaxico , ex-wife of former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, would have gotten involved directly.

"Our fees for this representation will be based upon the time devoted by our attorneys and legal assistants assigned to the engagement," Plaxico wrote. "I will be the primary attorney handling this matter. My billing rate for this matter is $350.00 per hour. We may use other attorneys in the firm on an as-needed basis and they will be billed at their normal hourly rates."

But when brought in front of county commissioners Monday, Amason's request died on the floor from lack of a motion. County Commissioners Rod Cleveland, Rusty Grissom and Jacob McHughes all were skeptical about why Amason needed to hire private counsel for the audit conducted by the state.

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Cleveland County sheriff had previously hired legal counsel over budget disagreements

The sheriff previously had hired legal counsel from Mike Fields, of Glenn Coffee & Associates, another Oklahoma City-based law firm, after disagreements grew between the sheriff's office and the Cleveland County Budget Board , which had budgeted Amason's office $18.3 million for the 2024 fiscal year.

Alleging he had not been receiving adequate allocations, Amason requested an audit from state Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd. But the county commissioners and treasurer contended that the sheriff had been overspending, leading the officials to approve a "bailout fund" diverting $3.2 million to the sheriff's budget so that Amason could meet payroll and other outstanding bills in June.

The first part of a special audit report from Byrd's office, also released in June, showed that by the end of February, Amason's office had collected $16.8 million. The rest of the audit report, which will investigate income and spending from Amason's office for the entire 2024 fiscal year, is expected to be released later this year.

"The Sheriff’s Office has had legal representation since the beginning of the budget and audit process, and we will maintain this support until all matters are fully resolved," Amason said in a statement Friday. "The District Attorney’s office recused itself from the budget negotiations, prompting us to hire Mr. Fields. When his contract ended, I anticipated the need for outside counsel for the audit extension."

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In March, current Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sent a letter to Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn, authorizing Amason to employ private counsel for representation "in the dispute between the Cleveland County Sheriff, the Cleveland County Board of County Commissioners, and other county elected officers who are members of the Cleveland County Budget Board."

But Commissioner Cleveland clarified that the sheriff had permission from the district attorney and the attorney general to hire Fields because of the potential conflict of the district's attorney's office representing various elected Cleveland County officials simultaneously during the fiscal year budget dispute. He pointed out that the attorney general's authorization did not extend to private counsel against the state auditor.

McHughes, recently reelected as commissioner for Cleveland County District 2, agreed. In a statement shared with The Oklahoman, he said he couldn't support using county funds to oppose what he described as a "neutral" state agency.

"The auditor serves as a neutral entity, dedicated to ensuring accountability and fiscal integrity within our state and local government," McHughes said. "The AG’s decision to allow outside counsel was based on the conflict between elected officials, not a state agency like the state auditor."

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Although the request to hire outside legal counsel failed to gain support, Amason later told The Oklahoman that he would have representation going forward after all.

"The District Attorney informed me this week that his office will now represent the Sheriff’s Office, and I have complete confidence in their capability to do so," Amason said in a statement.

When asked by The Oklahoman if Mashburn would be representing Amason in regard to the audit, a spokeswoman for the Cleveland County district attorney's office said, "We represent all elected County officials and give advice as needed."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Cleveland County sheriff's request for private counsel amid state audit was rejected