Administrative Law Judges

Western Regional Service Office, Oklahoma City

MARY CANDLER is Managing Deputy Administrative Law Judge at the Corporation Commission's Western Regional Service Office in Oklahoma City. Judge Candler began service at the Commission in 2011 and served the Commission in its Office of General Counsel as Assistant General Counsel in the Public Utility Section for two years. Prior to her time at the Commission, Judge Candler was in private practice with the Rainey Law Firm in Oklahoma City. Additionally, Judge Candler served for many years at Oklahoma City Community College in various positions including Director of Student Relations, Coordinator of Special Events and Adjunct Professor. Judge Candler is a 2006 graduate with honors of Oklahoma City University School of Law where she was a member of OCU's only legal honors fraternity, Phi Delta Phi, and President of the Native American Law Student Association. Other academic honors earned in law school were the CALI award in Contracts, faculty honor roll, and dean's honor roll. Judge Candler received a B.A. magna cum laude from Oklahoma Baptist University and an M.Ed. from the University of Oklahoma. Judge Candler has presided over hearings in a variety of the Commission's jurisdictional areas including public utility, telecommunications, transportation/motor carrier, enforcements, and oil and gas conservation matters. Currently, Judge Candler hears causes on the public utility and telecommunications dockets.

SEAN DENTON serves as a Senior Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. He presides over hearings at the Western Regional Service Office in Oklahoma City. Those hearings include the areas of oil and gas conservation, oil and gas and petroleum storage tank regulatory enforcement, and pollution abatement/environmental remediation. Judge Denton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma in 1999 and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2007 (graduating in the top 10 percent of his class and was admitted to the Order of the Coif honor society). He is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Western Districts of Oklahoma, and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Prior to being appointed as an Administrative Law Judge in 2017, Judge Denton practiced law for 10 years as a civil litigation attorney at prominent Oklahoma City Law Firms Rainey Ross Rice & Binns, Fenton Fenton Smith Reneau & Moon, and Pierce Couch Hendrickson Baysinger & Green.

LINDA S. FOREMAN serves as an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. She presides over public utility and telecommunications hearings at the Western Regional Service Office in Oklahoma City. Judge Foreman earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Northeastern Oklahoma in 1972 and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1989. She is a member of the Oklahoma and Texas Bar Associations, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Prior to her appointment an Administrative Law Judge in March 2018, Judge Foreman practiced law in the area of civil litigation for 28 years. Subsequent to serving as in-house counsel for the State Insurance Fund (now CompSource) and Kemper Insurance, she was named Managing Partner of both the Oklahoma and Texas offices of a major national insurance defense law firm.

JACQUELINE ("Jackie") MILLER serves as a Deputy Administrative Law Judge in the Corporation Commission's Western Regional Service Office in Oklahoma City, Judicial and Legislative Services Division, conducting hearings in the areas of oil and gas conservation, oil and gas and petroleum storage tank regulatory enforcement, and pollution abatement/ environmental remediation. Judge Miller is a J.D., M.B.A., B.A. graduate of Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and was sworn in as a lawyer by the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1992. She has received numerous honors as an OCU student including Dean’s Honor Roll and following graduation has served as President of the OCU Alumni Association. Judge Miller has also received certification from the National Judicial College in Advanced Administrative Law. She began her professional legal career as a lawyer in private practice specializing in civil litigation. Prior to employment with the Corporation Commission, Judge Miller served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. She began service with the Corporation Commission in public utility regulation in November 1993. During her tenure with the Commission, Judge Miller has served the Commission as a Technical Analyst, Public Utility Division, and an Assistant General Counsel and Senior Attorney, Office of General Counsel and also represented the Commission before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. While serving as a Senior Attorney, she served as the deliberation counsel to the Commissioners. In February 2002, Judge Miller was appointed to the role of Senior Administrative Law Judge conducting hearings in the areas of public utility regulation, enforcement and consumer services and was later promoted to Deputy Administrative Law Judge. In addition to her duties as ALJ, as a part of the division’s externship program, Judge Miller has supervised the judicial externs in oil and gas and other areas of the Commission’s jurisdiction. Over the years, Judge Miller has received numerous awards recognizing her professional and community work, including the Kim-Jones Shelton Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Alliance of Civil Rights in June 2006; and Outstanding Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg American Inn of Court 2007-2008. She attributes her devotion to public service to her parents who committed their lives to public service.

MICHAEL D. NORRIS serves as a Senior Administrative Law Judge in the Commission's Western Regional Service Office. Judge Norris joined the Commission in March 2007 and conducts hearings in oil and gas conservation. Judge Norris received his undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma, and attended the University of Oklahoma College of Law and Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he received a Juris Doctorate degree. Judge Norris came to the Commission from the role of staff attorney for a real estate title and abstract company in Oklahoma. Prior to that role, Judge Norris enjoyed a long career in the insurance industry, holding corporate and government agency legal counsel positions in Oklahoma and Texas.

CARLY ORTEL serves as an Administrative Law Judge for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. She presides over oil and gas and public utility hearings at the Western Regional Service Office in Oklahoma City. Judge Ortel is a 2014 graduate of the University of Texas earning a Bachelor of Science degree and a certificate in business from the McCombs School of Business. In 2018, Judge Ortel, a merit scholar, earned her Juris Doctor degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law. A member of the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity, Judge Ortel was recognized by her future peers through mock trial competition for Best Prosecution, Best Witness, and earning fourth place at nationals. Prior to joining OCC, Judge Ortel was a practicing attorney in both the public and private sectors in the areas of criminal and civil litigation. Judge Ortel has received numerous honors and accolades during her professional career including for providing pro bono services, the CALI award in Sports Law from OCU School of Law and the NextGen 30 Under 30 award. She was admitted to The Order of Barristers in recognition of her exceptional skill in trial advocacy. A member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, Judge Ortel is also admitted to practice in the federal Western District of Oklahoma.

PAUL PORTER is a Senior Administrative Law Judge in the Corporation Commission's Western Regional Service Office in Oklahoma City. Judge Paul Porter holds BS, MA, M.Ed. and JD degrees and is a member of multiple academic honor societies. He has attended several training courses at the National Judicial College. For more than 20 years, Judge Porter has presided as an Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Human Services, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, and the Corporation Commission, all of Oklahoma. While employed at the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, he wrote an administrative law manual for the agency. His past legal experience includes personnel law, substance abuse and mental health law, family law, and representation of the State of Oklahoma's Medicaid program in multi-state tobacco litigation. Judge Porter is a member of the state and county bar associations and is certified as an Administrative Law Judge by the National Association of Hearing Officials. Judge Porter conducts hearings in the areas of oil and gas conservation, oil and gas and petroleum storage tank regulatory enforcement, and pollution abatement/environmental remediation.

JAN PRESLAR serves as an Appellate Referee. Judge Preslar joined the Commission in June 2019. Prior to joining the agency, she served as General Counsel for the Oklahoma Ethics Commission and as Deputy Attorney General and Chief of the General Counsel Division of the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General. As Deputy Attorney General, Judge Preslar served as Administrative Law Judge for a number of state agencies and supervised legal services provided to over 60 state agencies. Before her public service, Judge Preslar practiced 14 years in the area of oil & gas litigation with Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson and Watson & McKenzie. Judge Preslar holds a J.D from Oklahoma City University, and a B.S. and M.Ag. in Mechanized Agriculture from Texas A&M; University. She is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

KEITH T. THOMAS serves as a Deputy Administrative Law Judge in the Commission's Western Regional Service Office. Judge Thomas joined the Commission in June 2005 as Assistant General Counsel in the Oil and Gas Section of the Office of General Counsel. He joined the Office of Administrative Proceedings (now the Judicial and Legislative Services Division) in December 2014 and conducts hearings in the areas of oil and gas conservation, petroleum storage tank regulatory enforcement, pollution abatement/environmental remediation, and transportation. Judge Thomas received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University, and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. He came to the Commission from the role of attorney at the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. Prior to that role, Judge Thomas worked in the domestic and international oil and natural gas industry.

Eastern Regional Service Office, Tulsa

TAMMY BARRETT serves as an Administrative Law Judge in the Corporation Commission’s Eastern Regional Service Office in Tulsa. Judge Barrett joined the Commission in May 2023. Judge Barrett obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, graduating with honors. Judge Barrett’s prior experience includes serving as a federal staff attorney to a United States Magistrate Judge and separately to a United States District Judge in the Northern District of Oklahoma. Prior to being appointed as an Administrative Law Judge, Judge Barrett was in private practice for more than 20 years, with her civil practice including energy and oil and gas law at the law firm of Gable Gotwals where she was a Shareholder. From 2018 to 2023, while in private practice, she was recognized by Best Lawyers in Energy Law, Appellate Practice, and Litigation, and was identified as the 2021 Lawyer of the Year in Tulsa for Appellate law. While in private practice, Judge Barrett co-authored several articles, including a chapter addressing subsurface trespass and hydraulic fracturing issues in the Energy Law & Transactions treatise.

MATTHEW C. BEESE serves as an Administrative Law Judge in the Oklahoma Corporation Commission's Eastern Regional Service Office. Judge Beese joined the Commission in July 2022. Judge Beese is actively engaged in both local and state professional organizations. Elected in 2017, he served as a Governor to the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors, representing Judicial District 7. He is a member of numerous OBA Committees and currently serves on the Professional Reasonability Commission and the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission. Judge Beese is also a Past President and Past Vice-President of the Muskogee County Bar Association. He has been a trainer for the Oklahoma Forensic Academy and an instructor for the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET), providing training to law enforcement agencies. Judge Beese has served as the Municipal Judge for the Town of Okay, Oklahoma, and has been trained and certified as a Court appointed mediator and arbitrator and has served as the Chair for numerous arbitration panels. Judge Beese has presented a yearly seminar on municipal topics for Leadership Muskogee and Youth Leadership Muskogee, presented by the Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce and has frequently spoken on the Municipal regulation and impacts of medical marijuana. He has also previously served as an adjunct instructor on the subject of Business Law at Bacone College. Judge Beese holds an Associate of Arts from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a Bachelor of Science in Education from Missouri Southern State College and a Juris Doctorate from Northern Illinois University, College of Law. Judge Beese is licensed to practice law in Oklahoma and Illinois(Retired Status), and admitted to practice before the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the Northern District of Illinois, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.