Expungement In Oklahoma Made Easier Nobody wants to lose in court – especially when a case goes all the way to an appellate court. Wirth Law Office was disappointed when the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals ruled against us in a 2012 case where we tested the language of an expungment law. Fortunately, our loss […]
Published Wirth Law Office Case Spurs Change of Law Read Post »
It will soon be a little easier for some people to get court records sealed after a misdemeanor or non-violent felony conviction in Oklahoma. A bill Gov. Mary Falin signed in May, 2014 and which is set to take effect Nov. 1, 2014 reduces several requirements for expungement under Oklahoma law. Even if you have
Expungement in Oklahoma Will Get a Little Easier Read Post »
Landmark Decision Advances Digital Privacy In a decision that could effect countless ongoing cases, the United States Supreme Court has determined that police cannot search an arrested suspect’s cell phone without a warrant. The unanimous June 25, 2014 decision was immediately hailed as a landmark contribution to digital era privacy rights. The court heard arguments
Cell Phone Searches Require Warrants, U.S. Supreme Court Rules Read Post »
Share this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI6o4sQ1ORo&list=UU4E-wbu1ZAPgFvsWIG2y8hw&feature=share Video transcript: As an attorney I often come across people who should have hired a good attorney and failed to do so. It makes me want to come out and tell you of all the circumstances out there where you might need a good attorney. For instance if you are hauled
You Might Need a Good Attorney If: Your Defense Lawyer Becomes Your Prosecutor Read Post »
A sheriff sneaks into your farm field in the early hours of the morning to plant a camera. Is it legal or not? The question came up in Rogers County when the office of Sheriff Scott Walton apparently placed a camera somewhere on 400 acres of farmland owned by county commissioner Kirt Thaker. Walton said
Rogers County Sheriff's Spy Cam Highlights Open Fields Doctrine in Oklahoma Read Post »
In the language of law, it is called expunction or expungement. In popular parlance, it is often called having your court records sealed. In Oklahoma, a person arrested for a crime or convicted on criminal charges in certain circumstances can petition a court to seal their records. One of those circumstances involves a misdemeanor conviction
Oklahoma Misdemeanors Further Defined in Expungement Case Read Post »
Some Internet data transfer speeds now approach the speed of light. Data transfer in Oklahoma courts is not nearly so fast.
Oklahoma courts’ efforts to provide online access to statewide court records were moving at a snail’s pace event before they came to a full stop on June 9, 2014.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Cancels Online Court Records Contract Read Post »
According to a Massachusetts judge, the parents of a Connecticut teenager did terrible things to their daughter. First, they took her to the hospital seeking medical treatment for a bad case of the flu. Then, when state workers seized custody of the teen, the parents talked publicly about the state’s seizure of their teenaged child.
Girl in State Custody Begs Judge 'Let Me Go Home' Read Post »
Parents’ housekeeping skills often become the subject of debate in child custody cases. An Oklahoma Child Protective Services employee or an embattled spouse might argue that pet hair from household pets, the smell of farm animals, dusty surfaces and – especially – mice or bugs are evidence of child neglect. A new study by Johns
A Dirty Oklahoma Home Might Not Indicate Child Neglect Read Post »
Wirth Law Office’s Tulsa car accident lawyer helped get fair compensation for a woman injured in a Tulsa auto accident that resulted from a driver texting while driving.
Oklahoma Child Custody Can Now Be Delegated Without a Court Order A new Oklahoma law adopted in 2014 now allows parents to sign voluntary agreements that transfer custody of a child to another person. The non-judicial delegation of parental custody by power of attorney can last as little as 24 hours or as long as
How to Voluntarily Transfer Child Custody in Oklahoma Read Post »
The Oklahoma Supreme Court eventually upheld the execution secrecy law. In the process, the court established that a person condemned to die still has a right to approach Oklahoma courts.
Even the Condemned Have Access to Oklahoma Courts Read Post »
With the help of a Tulsa guardianship attorney at Wirth Law Office, the mother of a disabled veteran secured guardianship of her son so he could get the care he needed.
Dangerous overcrowding continues at Tulsa County’s David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center, according to online jail records. With 1,751 inmates in custody on Monday, April 28, 2014, the Tulsa County lockup housed 37 more residents than the jail’s maximum rated capacity. The recent Monday-morning population was about 100 inmates more than than the jail can
Tulsa County Jail Dangerously Overcrowded – Again Read Post »
A former director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections says private prisons in Oklahoma are scheming to keep people behind bars so they can increase corporate profits. The lifelong corrections employee unloaded on the private prison industry in the most improbable of places. In an unlikely liaison between a career corrections official and the American
Oklahoma Corrections Official Says Private Prisons Immoral Read Post »
In an expedited ruling that averted a looming constitutional crisis, the Oklahoma Supreme Court on April 23, 2014, reversed a district court decision related to secrecy surrounding execution procedures. The decision means Oklahoma may execute two convicted killers without triggering a constitutional showdown. A looming constitutional crisis emerged when attorneys asked a district court to
Oklahoma Supreme Court Averts Constitutional Crisis Read Post »
Constitutional Showdown Looms Over Oklahoma Death Penalty Secrecy In the virtual shadows of modern-day gallows, Oklahoma’s two highest courts in April, 2014 became embroiled in a historic constitutional showdown. The top civil court stayed two pending executions after the top criminal court twice refused to order the executions stayed. Then, within hours of a scheduled
Americans’ Fourth Amendment right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” ranks among the most zealously protected freedoms we enjoy in the United States. Yet an ever-growing list of exceptions appears to erode those fundamental freedoms. Lawmakers in both Oklahoma and Tennessee recently voted to stop some
Oklahoma Lawmakers Take Aim at Privateers; Tennessee Targets 'Voluntary' Roadside Stops Read Post »
If you are a diligent worker and lose your job in Oklahoma, you most likely will be entitled to unemployment benefits. Every employer is required to pay unemployment insurance to cover displaced workers unemployment compensation for a limited period of time or until they find another job. This article explains how to file for unemployment
Tulsa child custody attorneys at Wirth Law Office understand grandparents rights. The grandparents rights attorneys helped keep a child in the family after the death of a parent.
Client Review: Tulsa Grandparents Rights Attorney Read Post »
The spread of smartphone technology has dramatically increased the frequency with which people use text messages for legal purposes in Oklahoma civil cases and criminal trials. Yet litigants who need to show the contents of text messages in court can face several hurdles. The simplest hurdle is often merely preserving the contents of text messages.
Oklahoma Courts: How to Save Text Messages for Legal Purposes Read Post »
The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) has lodged a disciplinary complaint against District 18 District Attorney Farley Ward alleging he withheld information from defense attorneys in a 2009 first-degree murder case. The Bar has also filed a complaint against defense attorney Rex Starr, who defended Clinton R. Potts in the 2009 case. Potts was convicted for
Bar Association Alleges Oklahoma District Attorney Withheld Evidence Read Post »
An Oklahoma bill that could make divorce lawyers wealthy and force some children to remain in homes where one parent wants to leave inched forward Feb. 20, 2014, when the Government Modernization Committee voted 5-3 in favor of the measure. House Bill 1548 would prohibit no-fault divorce in cases where either party objects to a
'Fairness in Fault Act' Would Make Oklahoma Divorce Attorneys Rich Read Post »
Oklahoma residents may go to Oklahoma courts to file lawsuits against out of state Internet merchants. A Feb. 11, 2014 Oklahoma Supreme Court decision determined the state’s courts have jurisdiction over some individuals and companies who do business with state residents from outside the state. The ruling relied on federal court decisions that say an
Oklahoma Residents May Now Sue Out-of-State Web Merchants Read Post »
A January 28, 2014, Oklahoma Supreme Court decision makes it difficult — if not impossible — for the state to continue revoking drivers licenses based on evidence provided by the current generation of breath analysis machinery. Currently anyone arrested for DUI in Oklahoma who blows a .08 or more (or refuses to blow) has their
Oklahoma Supreme Court Throws Wrench in Intoxilyzer 8000 Breathalyzer Read Post »
