Traci Soderstrom Removed

Traci Soderstrom, a Lincoln County, Oklahoma District Court judge, resigned from the bench as part of a settlement with the state after the Council on Judicial Complaints found she exchanged more than 500 texts with her own courtroom bailiff while presiding over the 2023 murder trial of Khristian Tyler Martzall, accused of killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old son. The texts, sent during the trial itself, mocked trial participants — including one where Soderstrom noted the prosecutor was "sweating through his coat" and mocked his appearance, calling his hands "so weird looking" — and made offensive comments about the state's attorneys while praising the defense. Soderstrom faced a formal petition for removal from the bench over accusations including gross neglect of duty, oppression in office, lack of proper temperament, and failure to supervise her office. Under the settlement, she resigned and agreed never to seek judicial office in Oklahoma again.