Oklahoma City Presiding Municipal Judge Philippa C. James will retire on June 30 after 28 years of service with Oklahoma City Municipal Court.
Judge James began her career with the City on July 1, 1997, when members of the Oklahoma City Council appointed her a Municipal Judge responsible for the City’s juvenile docket. She was appointed Oklahoma City Municipal Court Presiding Judge July 1, 2013.
“Judge James’ commitment to criminal justice reform leaves an indelible legacy for the OKC Municipal Court and the community,” Judiciary Chairman and Ward 8 Councilman Mark Stonecipher said. “Judge James personifies justice for all. She will be greatly missed.”
At the Municipal Court, Judge James championed Criminal Justice Reform and supported the court’s outreach with community agencies such as the Homeless Alliance, NorthCare, Remerge Oklahoma, City Rescue Mission, The Education and Employment Ministry (TEEM), Department of Corrections, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Oklahoma Country District Court Specialty Dockets, Diversion Hub and the Latino Community Action Agency.
Judge James, along with the Court Administrator and the Criminal Justice Division Head of the Municipal Counselor’s Office, helped create Community Court, which serves people experiencing housing insecurity.
She was a major influence in the court’s warrant reform, creating dockets to determine ability to pay, thus eliminating arrests for debt alone, implementing more transparent processes for pro se defendants and advocating for the court’s participation in Warrant Clearance Events throughout the metro area.
Judge James is the recipient of the 2025 Oklahoma County Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2019 Oklahoma Bar Association Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Diversity Award.
Prior to her tenure at Oklahoma City Municipal Court, Judge James was General Counsel for the State of Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, and the first African American attorney to hold that position. She was also the first African American attorney assigned to work as an Assistant Public Defender in the Juvenile Division of the Oklahoma County Public Defender's Office.
Judge James is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Oklahoma County Bar Association, the Association of Black Lawyers (Oklahoma County), the Oklahoma Municipal Judges Association, as well as the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Judge James has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She received her Juris Doctorate from the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1992.
President John Adams said, “If we don’t lay out ourselves in service, what else is there?”
Her presence will be missed: her legacy will live on.