Amy Palumbo Reprimanded

Amy Palumbo, an Oklahoma County District Court judge, was privately reprimanded by Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Dustin Rowe following an investigation into a confrontation with Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III. According to sworn statements from four sheriff's deputies, Palumbo grew upset on April 17, 2024, about courthouse security and noise coming from outside her eighth-floor courtroom, then sent Johnson a text message ordering him to appear before her. Johnson learned that county leaders and members of the media had also been summoned to witness what would have been his arrest; he says Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond confirmed to him that Palumbo had crossed a line. Johnson filed a formal complaint about a week after the incident, which triggered an investigation; nine months later, in January 2025, he learned Chief Justice Rowe had issued Palumbo a private reprimand — the specific details of which remain confidential under Oklahoma's judicial privacy rules. Johnson has separately called for Palumbo's resignation, which the reprimand did not require.