Wirth Law Office - Tulsa Tulsa Attorney Blog

Court Declines to Review Case that Invalidated Oklahoma DUI Breathalyzer Tests
By James M. Wirth, Esq., September 27th, 2016
State Failed to Adopt Valid Intoxilyzer 8000 Rules The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Sept. 26, 2016 declined to review the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals decision in a drivers license revocation case that effectively – should – make breath test evidence from the current generation of breathalyzer machines inadmissible in Oklahoma DUI cases. It might […]
What is First-Degree Manslaughter Resisting Criminal Attempt in Oklahoma?
By James M. Wirth, Esq., September 23rd, 2016
First degree manslaughter charges filed against a Tulsa police officer for killing an unarmed suspect who disobeyed orders highlight a narrow distinction between justifiable self-defense homicide and unlawful killing in a heat of passion or while preventing a criminal attempt.
Pawnee Business Counsel Appoints Earl Lawson as Tribal Prosecutor
By staff, September 19th, 2016
The Pawnee Business Council has appointed Wirth Law Office of-counsel attorney Earl Lawson as Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma’s prosecutor in Pawnee Nation District Court.
Speedy Trial Violations Void Drivers License Revocations in Oklahoma DUI Arrests
By James M. Wirth, Esq., September 2nd, 2016
The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals decided year-long delays before DUI drivers license revocations hearings amount to speedy trial violations. While Oklahoma DPS says the delays are the result of budget constraints, the agency is also awaiting the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s possible review of a decision that undermined the agency’s reliance on a current generation of breathalyzers. The Intoxilyzer 8000 is used to gather evidence for drivers license revocations and for DUI criminal cases.
Tulsa Attorney Provides Legal Expertise on Bail Bonds in Oklahoma
By staff, August 23rd, 2016
Publication Investigated Alleged Hate Crime TalkingPointsMemo.com quoted Tulsa attorney James Wirth in an article about a shooting in which Khalid Jabara, a Tulsa man of Lebanese heritage, was shot to death on his front doorstep. Witnesses alleged a neighbor charged as a suspect in the south-side killing, Stanley Vernon Majors, was motivated by ethnic hatred. The […]
Audit: Rogers County DA Office Deleted Financial Records
By James M. Wirth, Esq., June 28th, 2016
State auditors cited two Oklahoma felony laws as criteria for a finding that the District Attorney’s Office in Rogers County deleted financial records. The audit also cites a misdemeanor provision of the Oklahoma Open Records Act, which forbids public officials from deleting public records.
Will Tulsa Jury Trial Delays Cause Oklahoma Speedy Trial Violations?
By James M. Wirth, Esq., June 10th, 2016
Tulsa County court officials have announced jury trials will be suspended for two full months during the summer of 2016. The court cut two jury weeks from the schedule on either side of judge’s regular July summer vacation time after state officials announced a $1.3 billion budget shortfall. Delays in jury trial schedules pose questions about potential speedy trial violations.
Database Ranks Tulsa County, Oklahoma Near Top of Exonerations List
By James M. Wirth, Esq., May 27th, 2016
A University of Michigan Law School study reveals Tulsa County has one of the highest rates of exoneration for a county its size anywhere in the nation. False allegations, perjury and official misconduct contributed to many of the convictions that were later overturned.
Can I Fight a Tulsa Oklahoma Texting and Driving Ticket?
By James M. Wirth, Esq., April 18th, 2016
Oklahoma’s texting and driving law includes ambiguities similar to those in an Indiana law a federal court called “largely inefficacious” and “probably wrong. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said a police officer who sees a driver holding a cell phone has no reasonable basis to suspect the driver is illegally texting and driving.
Oklahoma Court Reverses Sentence on Tulsa Prosecutor’s Misconduct
By James M. Wirth, Esq., April 13th, 2016
An Assistant District Attorney’s dramatic reenactment using a doll during a closing arguments was way over the top, even for Oklahoma’s often prosecution-friendly Court of Criminal Appeals.
The court overturned a defendant’s life-without-parole sentence because of the prosecutor’s theatrical behavior. Although it was not published as precedent, the case summarizes standards that my be used to identify prosecutorial misconduct during arguments by attorneys in Oklahoma criminal trials..
Wagoner County Sheriff Faces Civil Asset Forfeiture Extortion Charge
By James M. Wirth, Esq., April 7th, 2016
A grand jury indictment of Wagoner County Sheriff Bob Colbert on felony charges related to asset seizure sheds light on the narrow difference between civil asset forfeitures purpose for restricting flow of criminal assets and civil forfeitures used as an alternative form of punitive criminal justice.
Deadlines Include Weekend Days in Oklahoma Criminal Courts
By James M. Wirth, Esq., April 2nd, 2016
Twice in 2016, five-day deadlines to appeal judicial disqualifications will be reduced to one day because of court holidays and rigid Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals opinions. The unreasonably short deadlines result from the court’s refusal to apply it’s own appellate rules to lower criminal courts, a stern refusal to recognize some civil procedure as applicable to all Oklahoma courts and a strained interpretation of Oklahoma law to conclude the legislature mandated rules that are not spelled out in any Oklahoma law.
Tulsa District Court Announces Felony Domestic Violence Court
By staff, March 21st, 2016
Tulsa County District Court has ordered the creation of a felony domestic violence court and assigned “certain specific felony matters” to the new FDV docket.
House Approves Oklahoma Expungement Law Reforms
By James M. Wirth, Esq., March 16th, 2016
The Oklahoma Senate is considering a bill that would reduce waiting periods for expungement of court records in misdemeanor and non-violent felony cases. The reform would also for the first time allow expungement of two non-violent felonies, allow immediate expungement of some misdemeanors where fines were under $501, and allow expungement of misdemeanors or non-violent felonies resulting in deferred judgements even after prior misdemeanor convictions.
Washington County Judge Upholds Oklahoma Citizen Participation Act
By James M. Wirth, Esq., March 8th, 2016
A Washington County court has dismissed a lawsuit on free speech grounds under a fast-track procedure created in the 2014 Oklahoma Citizens Participation Act. The decision runs contrary to two previous OCPA decisions in other libel cases, all of which involve the same group of Rogers County defendants, sued by former District Attorney Janice Steidley. The contrary rulings set the stage for an appellate decision on the Oklahoma law intended to provide timely relief when a libel lawsuit challenges constitutionally protected advocacy.