By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
A prosecutor who previously had his own law practice has been named Canadian County’s new special judge.
Yukon’s Charles W. Gass will take over as special judge effective Feb. 11. He will handle a predominantly domestic docket, along with traffic, small claims and criminal cases.
“Mr. Gass will be a great addition to the Canadian County judiciary,” said District Judge Paul Hesse, who appointed Gass to the special judge’s position. “His reputation in the legal community, his temperament and legal experience made him a great choice to replace Judge Jack McCurdy.”
McCurdy, of Yukon, becomes a new district judge this week after winning a November 2018 election.
Gass has served most recently as a deputy district attorney in the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office after being in private practice since February 2007. Before becoming a prosecutor, Gass had law offices in Yukon and El Reno working primarily in criminal and family law. He also served as a public defender.
Gass earned a juris doctorate from the Oklahoma City University School of Law and a political science degree from Oklahoma State University. He is a member of the Canadian County and Oklahoma bar associations.
Before Gass takes over as a special judge on the Canadian County bench, McCurdy ascends to a newly created, second district judge position. This marks the first time Canadian County has had two district judges.
McCurdy was elected after Yukon’s J.P. Jordan, a former state legislator, dropped out of the race in the fall. McCurdy earned 68.96 percent of the 38,884 votes cast.
Also joining the Canadian County judiciary this week as a special judge is Yukon’s Khristian Strubhar, a longtime attorney and prosecutor. Hesse recently named Strubhar to succeed retired Special Judge Gary McCurdy.
“Special judges are employees of the district judges and serve at the district judges’ pleasure,” Hesse said.
