Tulsa Attorney Blog 12 Posts Tagged 'Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals'


  • 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..

  • Fed Court Delivers Smackdown Opinion of Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., February 23rd, 2016

    In a stinging review of Oklahoma criminal procedure, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Bemoaned Oklahoma’s short appellate deadlines and lack of a prison mailbox rule for computing deadlines pegged to dates court documents are issued.

  • Constitutional Tensions Strain Oklahoma Courts

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., January 25th, 2016

    Two top courts in Oklahoma’s bifurcated court system have published contrary opinions about whether criminal court deadlines include weekends or holidays. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals maintains a legislative mandate requires it to include count all calendar days in deadlines, even if the court is closed on a day of a deadline. The Oklahoma Supreme Court earlier published an opinion declaring its business-day rules govern some criminal court deadline procedures.

  • Two Second Rule Simulator for Oklahoma Drivers

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., May 26th, 2015

    Tulsa traffic ticket attorney posted this following distance animated simulator to demonstrate what the two second rule for safe following distance looks like in highway driving conditions.

  • Oklahoma Court Affirms Life Sentence in Error Ridden Hit and Run Case

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., May 19th, 2015

    The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals acknowledged there were errors in the trial that sent Joey Lynn Smith to prison for life after a hit-and-run accident. The errors the court acknowledged – and others errors the Oklahoma criminal defense attorneys alleged on appeal – are only part of the story. For a hit-and-run case, the prosecution essentially argued an assault and battery with a deadly weapon case.

  • Appeals Court Details Oklahoma Rules of Statutory Construction

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., May 18th, 2015

    Tulsa law firms can use the Court of Criminal Appeals decision in State ex rel Pruitt v Steidley as a handy cheat sheet for rules of statutory construction, Oklahoma style. The court summarized Oklahoma case law as it applies to interpreting statutes that otherwise might lead to contrary or ambiguous conclusions.

  • Oklahoma Appeals Court Does U-Turn on Tailgating Law

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., May 5th, 2015

    An Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals tailgating opinion gives police a basis to stop almost any driver on suspicion of following too closely. The opinion is an abrupt reversal of an opposite decision just 19 months earlier that had said a two-second rule for following too closely does not provide police an objective basis for reasonable suspicion. A Tulsa traffic ticket lawyer explains…

  • Oklahoma Juvenile Certification Case Raises 8th Amendment Questions

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., April 6th, 2015

    The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decided in a March 20, 2015 opinion that adults charged for crimes committed in their youth must be tried and sentenced as adults. Recent Supreme Court decisions, however, suggest youthful status is related to the age and mental status of youth at the time of their crimes.

  • Oklahoma Appeals Court Rejects Intoxilyzer 8000 Breathalyzer Results

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., September 22nd, 2014

    Decision Could Affect Oklahoma DUI Prosecutions The state’s highest criminal appeals court has driven another nail in the coffin of the Intoxilyzer 8000 breathalyzer used in Oklahoma driving under the influence cases. Unfortunately, this robocop machine might be counted among the undead. Here is why. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Sept. 11, 2014 […]

  • Even the Condemned Have Access to Oklahoma Courts

    By James M. Wirth, Esq., May 14th, 2014

    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.

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