Hon. M. John Kane, IV

Justice Kane was appointed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court in September of 2019 by Governor Kevin Stitt. His tenure as Vice Chief Justice began in January of 2021. Prior to his service on the Supreme Court, he had been appointed by Governor Brad Henry as the Osage County District Judge in 2005. He was reelected in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.  

Kane is the former Presiding Judge for the eight-county Northeast Judicial Administrative District (2019), and he is a former President (2013-2014) of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference (the State’s official Judicial Association). As a trial judge, Kane had also served as the Presiding Judge on the Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary. As a trial judge, Kane was recognized by CASA in 2015 as the judge of the year.  

Kane is a third-generation Osage County attorney, having been admitted to practice in 1987.  He had the privilege of practicing law with his grandfather (Matthew J. Kane) and his father (Matt Kane, Jr.) during their lifetimes in Pawhuska and Skiatook. Kane has been the president of the Osage County Bar Association, and is a Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Association. Prior to the creation of an Indigent Defense System, Kane accepted appointments to represent citizens accused of crime who were financially unable to hire their own attorney. He later served as a part-time assistant D.A. Prior to taking the District Court bench, Kane was also an Administrative Law Judge for the Dept. of Human Services- Child Support Division.  

Vice Chief Justice Kane is the great-grandson of Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew John Kane. The original Justice Kane was a member of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention, and was an integral participant of the writing of Oklahoma’s Constitution. John’s great-grandmother is the late Mabelle Kennedy, former Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury in the Truman administration. 

Vice Chief Justice Kane’s wife, Cyndi, is an author, public speaker, entrepreneur, and home school mom. The Kanes have 4 children.