A University of Arkansas Law School and College of the Ozarks graduate has been pegged as the new district attorney for District 27 in Oklahoma, which covers Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties, according to a media release from Gov. Mary Fallin.
Jack Thorp of Wagoner replaces Brian Kuester, who resigned to serve as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Thorp will serve as district attorney for the remainder of Kuester’s term, which expires in January 2019.
“Jack Thorp has been a prosecutor for nearly 20 years and has extensive jury trial and courtroom experience in prosecuting complex cases,” Fallin said in the release. “He is mindful of the critical nature of public service, and has exhibited a dedication to serving the public. He will serve the people of Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties well as district attorney.”
Kuester recommended Thorp, who served as Kuester’s top assistant, to replace him.
“He has played a critical and vital role in creating a district attorney’s office in which the people of this district can place their trust,” Kuester wrote in a letter to the governor. “His reputation is impeccable among the honest, law-abiding people who know him.”
Previously, Thorp worked five years as a Tulsa County assistant district attorney, heading up one of its five felony teams and managing more than 2,000 felony cases a year. Before that, he was a deputy prosecuting attorney in the Fifth District, which covered Franklin, Johnson and Pope counties in Arkansas.
Thorp earned his law degree from the University of Arkansas and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas.
