Schedule a Strategy Session Today:

(918) 879-1681

OFFICES IN BARTLESVILLE, MUSKOGEE, OKMULGEE, WAGONER, TAHLEQUAH, STILLWATER AND OKLAHOMA CITY

search and seizure

  • What Does Obstructing an Officer Mean in Tulsa Oklahoma?

    contempt of cop disorderly conduct oklahomaSome criticism of police is protected speech, yet contempt of cop cases are often masked as disorderly conduct, resisting, and <a href="https://www.wirthlawoffice.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-misdemeanor-criminal-defense-representation-attorney.html">obstructing an officer charges</a>. In Houston v. Hill, the Supreme Court said a man who shouted at police "pick on someone my size" engaged in protected First Amendment speech. Read more »

  • Police Cannot Delay Drivers While Waiting for Drug Dogs

    drug dogs in traffic stopsPolice nationwide may not delay drivers longer than it takes to conduct the usual business of a traffic stop unless they have reasonable suspicion that the vehicle might contain illegal contraband, according to a new U.S. Supreme Court decision. <a href="https://www.wirthlawoffice.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">Defense lawyers</a> will now be able to challenge the lack of reasonable suspicion if police held a driver on a mere hunch or based on some form of criminal profile. Read more »

  • Fake Cell Tower Technology Lets Cops Avoid Judicial Oversight

    cell phone surveillanceSecret Technology Flouts Wiretap Laws “‘Inhibiting law enforcement’s rights are second to protecting mine!’ (Florida Circuit Court Judge Frank) Sheffield thundered, gesturing with both hands and fixing his gaze on the prosecutor.” That is how the Washington Post described a Florida judge’s response to a prosecutor who tried to deny a defendant information about sophisticated […] Read more »

  • Oklahoma Court Sneaks In Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule

    Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule in OklahomaUnpublished Decision Reverses Earlier Precedent Courts lately seem to find ever more twisted logic to explain away constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures – a right the constitution says “shall not be violated.” The United States Supreme Court took a broadaxe to the Fourth Amendment when it declared in United States v. Calandra, 414 […] Read more »

  • Good Faith Exception Rewards Cops' Ignorance

    good faith exception exclusionary rule OklahomaExclusionary Rule Further Eroded Is it reasonable for a police officer not to know the law? The United States Supreme Court recently said yes, sometimes. What’s more, the court provided an incentive for police to adopt expansive interpretations of the law until a court tells them otherwise. In a December 15, 2014 decision, the court […] Read more »

  • Cell Phone Searches Require Warrants, U.S. Supreme Court Rules

    warrantless search cell phoneLandmark 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 […] Read more »

  • Rogers County Sheriff's Spy Cam Highlights Open Fields Doctrine in Oklahoma

    open fields doctrine oklahomaA 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 […] Read more »

  • Oklahoma Lawmakers Take Aim at Privateers; Tennessee Targets 'Voluntary' Roadside Stops

    Tulsa asset forfeiture attorneyAmericans’ 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 […] Read more »

  • Was New Mexico Man's 15-hour Ordeal a Cavity Search or Rape?

    Cavity SearchIt’s the epitome of invasive law enforcement. Police seek warrants for body cavity searches when they claim to suspect someone has secreted illegal drugs in their private parts. On other occasions, police have conducted invasive searches without warrants. Sometimes so-called cavity searches involve probing inside a driver’s undergarments during traffic stops. Recent lawsuits allege officers […] Read more »

  • Among Asset Forfeiture Nightmares, Oklahoma Laws Loom Large

    Wirth Law OfficeThe nationwide investigative journalism project ProPublica has released a report detailing nightmare scenarios surrounding the widely used civil forfeiture process. Under civil asset forfeiture laws state, local and federal agencies routinely seize property from individuals who sometimes have not been convicted – or even charged – with a crime. According to ProPublica, the city of […] Read more »

  • Private Firm's Cash Seizures Flout Asset Forfeiture Law

    Wirth Law OfficeA private company’s seizure of cash from motorists along a 21-mile length of I-40 in Caddo County has raised the ire of at least one judge. A Caddo County District Attorney nonetheless says he plans to “move forward” with a drug interdiction program that has had a private agency stopping and seizing cash from motorists. […] Read more »

Scroll to Top