Lawmaker: Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert Divorce Violated the Law
While tabloids continue to seize on every last speculative detail of the divorce between A-list country stars Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, serious new concerns about the legalities of how the divorce was handled by the State of Oklahoma have been raised, and if the celebrity couple benefited from preferential treatment from the judge who filed the paperwork. The Freedom of Information Act, and a brand new law in Oklahoma forbids individuals from receiving special treatment in the sealing of divorce records in the state, and the author of that law believes it was violated in the case of the recent Blake and Miranda split.
“There’s some shenanigans going on,” former State Representative and Norman, Oklahoma attorney Aaron Stiles told News OK on Monday (7-27). “Oh, yeah, they’re definitely not following the law on it. I can’t imagine a scenario where you would ever seal an entire civil or divorce case.”
On July 20th it was announced that after four years of marriage and endless tabloid stories about the couple’s martial troubles, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert had filed for divorce. “This is not the future we envisioned,” the couple said in a statement. “And it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately. We are real people, with real lives, with real families, friends and colleagues. Therefore, we kindly ask for privacy and compassion concerning this very personal matter.”
However the manner in which they filed for the divorce and kept it private appears to have been handled in a way that violated Oklahoma laws. “The average citizen, they don’t get their cases sealed. Their records are made public,” explains former Rep. Aaron Stiles.
The new Oklahoma law passed in 2014 and put in effect in November requires judges to seal only portions of cases subject to confidentiality, while the remainder of the records must stay open. In the case of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert divorce, only their initials “B.T.S. vs. M.L.S.” were given, as well as a docket sheet that only listed the legal filings. Blake Shelton originally filed for divorce on July 6th, but the decree dissolving the marriage wasn’t filed until July 20th.
But it’s not just that the documents were sealed, but how they were sealed that is being called into serious question. According to the new Oklahoma law, if a judge decides to seal portions of a divorce decree, they must announce publicly that the filing is being sealed. In the case of Blake and Miranda, that public declaration never occurred.
Even more suspicious, instead of filing for the divorce in their home county, the celebrity couple filed in Pottawatomie County. The filing was also handled by an associate district judge named John Gardner who is conveniently set to retire from the bench in “a few days.”
What is not clear at the moment is what the result could be if the divorce is found to have violated Oklahoma law, and if Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, or their attorneys may be subject to ramifications, or just Judge Gardner.
The new Oklahoma law was put in place specifically for cases such as the Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert divorce. It was written and passed because of the common occurrence of judges to seal the divorce records of personal friends and public individuals, while average citizens could not benefit from such a move.
“All it is is about protecting their buddies and cronyism,” Aaron Stiles says. “Somebody needs to put rogue judges in their place. They’re not a dictatorship.”
July 27, 2015 @ 6:09 pm
I understand the point about unequal treatment, but at the same time, why do so many people care about what’s in it. Shouldn’t we have enough respect for them to not to try to get any “dirty laundry” aired in public?
July 27, 2015 @ 6:19 pm
I think the point is larger than these two. If judges are allowed to seal files of their buddies (some of whom may be public figures) they can then effectively cover up embarrassing details that someone without connections would not be able to do.
Not to mention the possibility of corruption.
July 27, 2015 @ 6:48 pm
More offended by his bro country violating my ears! No shocker that there are different laws for celebrities for the boys round here!
July 27, 2015 @ 7:08 pm
What a surprise that a man whose music glorifies drunk driving and a woman whose music glorifies vandalism and firearms wouldn’t respect the law. But in all seriousness, the fact that the record wasn’t made public seems like a minor thing.
July 27, 2015 @ 7:56 pm
We don’t know that Blake and Miranda did anything wrong. It’s not their jobs to know the in’s and out’s of the law, and obviously they have a vested interest in keeping everything under wraps. The paperwork could have information on what caused the divorce, financial disclosures, divestiture of property, etc. It would be a windfall of information for gossip sites, but it also may be a big insight into the wealth and assets of big country stars.
July 27, 2015 @ 8:11 pm
Seems that is a lawyer deal nothing to do with them. I think Oklahoma is feeling heat that a marriage could be divorced so quickly. But seriously I think people need to leave this alone. Do we really need to know everything. In California and other states these papers are sealed. Good Lord.
July 27, 2015 @ 8:15 pm
I don’t think we need to know everything or anything about their divorce, but by that same token judges shouldn’t be handing out special favors that violate a law just because these two are famous.
Not a huge deal obviously, but people in power should be held accountable for their actions.
July 28, 2015 @ 12:34 am
It’s not just a Blake Shelton/Miranda Lambert issue. (Er, excuse me a “B.T.S./M.L.S.” issue.) It is a case where there’s not just the de facto appearance of two brands of justice, but a de jure implementation of two brands of justice — one for the powerful and connected, and one for the rest of us. I’m sure Shelton and Lambert had no personal involvement in getting the records sealed; that’s what they hired lawyers for. But for a small set of rich folks, Justice is not only not blind, but she has 20/20 vision.
The divorce is probably legal, but we shouldn’t be surprised when another judge or an appellate court unseals the file.
July 28, 2015 @ 10:10 am
The irony of this is that by trying to keep their files secret, and thus breaking the law, they could receive more media attention than if the documents were public from the start. It also makes you wonder if there was something in the documents that the two really don’t want others to know. But it’s none of my business and I don’t like either of their music anyway.
July 28, 2015 @ 10:50 am
The Streisand Effect in action!
July 28, 2015 @ 2:03 pm
This is pretty common practice for high-profile divorces where the parties are trying to keep a classy public face. Doing it in a different county and having it sealed hides it from the tabloids trolling divorce records and lets the couple control the story on their own terms. Maybe it’s “illegal” in OK but is this really news? Important to remember that these are human beings we are talking about, not clickbait.
July 28, 2015 @ 2:18 pm
There was a law specifically passed less than a year ago that expressly forbids what happened, and that law was purposely circumvented to keep their divorce records sealed. You and I don’t have the same opportunity to circumvent that law. They should not be subject to special treatment just because they’re celebrities. Yes, tabloids will used the information contained in the divorce decree for click bait. But as soon as we begin giving preferential treatment to celebrities under the law, the rules of democracy begin to be rendered meaningless.
July 28, 2015 @ 4:03 pm
And by doing this they are just making it worse because now there are enterprising media types that smell blood and really want to know what are in these filings.
July 29, 2015 @ 10:22 am
Wondering, Why do divorce details have to be public at all, for anyone? I would think that stuff should be private if that is what the couple wants. I’m sure it’s due to some basic principle of law I’m not familiar will (like why all arrest reports are legal even before guilt is determined) but a divorce is a horrible thing- why are there laws on transparency? Lock it down for everyone and then we don’t need to worry about judges doing buddies favors. Just curious.
July 30, 2015 @ 10:31 am
What is the relevance of this article to the subject ‘Saving Country Music’? I fail to see any link between the details of this divorce case and the integrity of country music. I do enjoy this website but it should stick to addressing issues about the music. The private dealings of artists which are in no way related to their musical output should be excluded. This also applies to an article published a while ago regarding the restaurant chain owned by Toby Keith – this has no relevance to his music output or the current state of country music and should not be covered on this website.
July 30, 2015 @ 8:21 pm
Two country music celebrities using their celebrity status to curry favor from the government is about as close to the heart of Saving Country Music as you can get. It speaks to the same type of corruption that festers on Music Row daily. I understand that talking about someone’s divorce can veer towards “gossip” or “tabloid,” but I thought the topic was very relevant, as was the topic of Toby Keith’s financial status, which can and has affected the music in direct ways.
July 30, 2015 @ 8:51 pm
The topic you are addressing is an important one – but it is a social and political issue regarding the preferential treatment that the wealthy in the society receive from the apparatus governing the country compared to the treatment received by ordinary people. The issue of the divorce details has no bearing on the musical output of BS and ML or the future direction of country music. The same goes for the financial status of Toby Keith. Given his wealth I very much doubt he would alter his music to make money, yes he would alter it to try and stay popular but I don’t think for the money.
As for the corruption that festers on music row daily, I can not comment as I have no knowledge of this issue.
Finally thank you for producing such an excellent website. I enjoy the vast majority of the articles. Many thanks.
July 30, 2015 @ 9:14 pm
Thanks for reading Cowboyal!