Hon. J. Jeffrey Payton is a district judge for the Fifteenth Judicial District in Oklahoma. He was elected to the seat in 2006.
The Fifteenth Judicial District includes the District Courts in Adair, Cherokee, Muskogee, Sequoyah, and Wagoner Counties.
While a district judge, Payton has served as chief judge for Sequoyah and Adair Counties and was presiding judge for the Eastern Central District (2013 to 2014). He has also served as a member of the Court on the Judiciary.
Prior to his election, he presided as a special judge for the Fifteenth Judicial District, a position to which he was appointed in 2001.
Payton received a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from the University of Oklahoma in 1986. He went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1991.
He was admitted to practice in Oklahoma (1992); the United States District Court for the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
After graduating from law school, Payton entered into private practice alongside his father, Lloyd Payton, where he remained until his appointment to the bench in 2001.
He was chairman of the board for the Oklahoma Judges Association in 2015.
Payton was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he attended Muskogee High School.