(with special thanks to Mark Hoover, OIDS, for contributing regularly)

 

“I have lived my life, and I have fought my battles, not against the weak and the poor—anybody can do that—but against power, against injustice, against oppression, and I have asked no odds from them, and I never shall.”—-Clarence S. Darrow, Attorney for the Damned 491, 497 (Arthur Weinberg ed. 1957).

 

 

State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Association v. Miller, 2015 OK 69 (Okla., October 20, 2015): Prosecutorial Misconduct: In this Bar disciplinary opinion, former Oklahoma County prosecutors are publicly reprimanded and ordered to pay costs for intentionally misleading the defense during a trial and for Brady violations. NOTE: This was a 5-4 opinion, where the dissent would have imposed discipline of a suspension for six months.

 

 

Jemaine Monteil Cannon v. Anita Trammell, Warden, No. 13-5071 (10^th Cir., August 11, 2015) (Published) (N.D. Okla., the Hon. Terence C. Kern) (Tymkovich, Gorsuch & Phillips): Habeas Corpus (Capital Habeas): Denial of habeas relief is affirmed over claims relating to: 1) IAC regarding a claim of improper contact between jurors and prosecution witnesses; and 2) IAC regarding Cannon’s right to testify.

John Fitzgerald Hanson v. William A. Sherrod, Warden, No. 13-5100 (10^th Cir., August 13, 2015) (Published) (N.D. Okla., the Hon. Claire V. Eagan) (Hartz, Tymkovich & Phillips): Habeas Corpus (Capital Habeas); Cumulative Error: Denial of habeas relief is affirmed over claims relating to: 1) IAC; 2) prosecutorial misconduct; 3) death penalty invalid because the OCCA had invalidated the great-risk-of-death aggravator; 4) improper jury instruction on mitigating evidence; and 5) cumulative error.

United States v. Daniel Enrique Padilla-Esparza, No. 14-2191 (10^th Cir., August 14, 2015) (Published) (Lucero, Tymkovich & Matheson): Search and Seizure (Traffic Stops): Denial of a motion to suppress is affirmed over a challenge to the reasonable suspicion based on a BOLO (be on the lookout) alert.

 

 

“Only Supreme Court justices and schoolchildren are expected to and do take the entire summer off.” –Chief Justice John Roberts (statement made while he served as a lawyer in the Reagan Administration).

 

No new cases.

 

 

United States v. Peter Hugh Pocklington, No. 13-50461 (9^th Cir., July 2, 2015): Supervised Release/Probation: The Government attempted to revoke probation after the term had expired. The panel held this was not allowed because the Government failed to secure a warrant or summons before the expiration date, and this was a jurisdictional failure.

People v. Richard Leon, No. S056766 (Cal., June 29, 2015): Death Penalty (State Cases); Jurors: Death penalty vacated because three jurors were excused improperly concerning their views about the imposition of the death penalty.

United States v. Jeffrey P. Taylor, No. 14-3790 (7^th Cir., August 6, 2015): Supervised Release: Conditions of supervised release relating to viewing legal adult pornography and not having contact with minors are vacated.

United States v. Joshua R. Mackin, No. 14-3602 (7^th Cir., July 13, 2015): Discovery: Conviction for felon in possession of a firearm is reversed based on the Government’s discovery violation in failure to provide a complete copy of “continuity slip” that tracked the chain of custody (the Government disclosed an incomplete slip during discovery, but provided a complete slip at trial).

United States v. Baldwin Centeno, No. 14-2024 (3^rd Cir., July 14, 2015): Constructive Amendment: Convictions for violent assaults are reversed where the Government’s rebuttal summation advocated a basis for conviction that was not charged in the Indictment.

 

 

PAUL NORTHCUTT, McAlester, represented a client charged in Pittsburg with sexually assaulting a mentally handicapped woman; however, the trial judge ruled that she was not competent as a witness and the case was dismissed. Nice work, Paul!

 

 

Year in and year out, this is one of the best CLE events presented, in my opinion (the CDI is the second must-attend). David McKenzie, Assistant Public Defender in Oklahoma County, conceived it and it has been a hit ever since. The idea is to model a mock jury trial as it happens live in front of a lay jury so that attendees can see how it happens in a situation similar to a real trial. David added a twist in that the defense team consists of lawyers who practice criminal defense and all of whom have been awarded the Clarence Darrow Award for trial advocacy (David himself won it in 1997).

Punctuating the proceedings with ethical observations and learning/teaching moments, is Oklahoma trial legend Garvin Isaacs, who offers insights into how the prosecution and defense are doing, live as it happens. Registration is HERE, and below is the list of participants and the fact pattern at issue this year. Mark your calendars for this one!

 

OBA/CLE presents:

Barry Albert Memorial Mock Trial:6th Annual Learning from the Oklahoma Criminal Jury Trial Masters

 
 

Location:
Oklahoma City University Moot Courtroom

800 N. Harvey, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 
 

NOTE:  Pre-registration is required. No walk-ins permitted.

 
 

Ethics Advisor and Trial Techniques Presenter
Garvin Isaacs, Garvin A. Isaacs, Inc., Oklahoma City

 
 

The Trial of Kristoffer M. Chamberlin

 
 

THE FACTS:On August 4, 2010, at 5:18 a.m. the Braum’s store located at 9020 N.E. 23rd Street in Midwest City was robbed of just over $2900.00.  The robber came into the store just as the morning shift was coming in to open for breakfast. The robber wore a mask, a hooded sweatshirt and gloves.The robber ordered the employees at knife point to the back of the store where the safe was and demanded that it be opened and he be given all the money.After he got the money he ran from the store into the early morning darkness. One of employees called 911 and the Midwest City Police rushed to the scene.While waiting for the police to get there the employees started to talk. One of them said, “I think the guy who just robbed us was Kris.”The three other employees agreed the robber was Kristoffer Chamberlin, a fellow employee of that very same Braum’s store.

 
 

The employees told the police who they though the perpetrator of the robbery was and Midwest City Detectives rushed to Kris’ house.Kris was supposed to be helping the others open the store that morning but called in sick.Kris lived with his girlfriend’s parents near the Braum’s. When they arrived at Kris’ house Kris was present and he told them he had not left the home except for around 7:00 a.m. to get a pack of cigarettes. Kris denied any involvement in the robbery. The police were given consent to search but did not locate the money or the ski mask. The police did notice that a knife was missing from a wooden knife holder in the kitchen. The home had an outdoors shed that was

searched. The police found a gray sweatshirt in the shed but did not see the significance of sweatshirt because the employees said the robber worn a black sweatshirt. The following day the detectives were able to view the security video of the robbery and found the eyewitnesses were wrong and the robber, in fact, did have a gray sweatshirt on.

 
 

Kristoffer Chamberlin was immediately arrested and is now on trial for his life.

 
 

Trial Judge

Richard Anderson, 2008 Clarence Darrow Award Recipient, Oklahoma City

 
 

Prosecution Team
Cindy Viol, 2009 Clarence Darrow Award Recipient; 2007 Barry Albert Award Recipient, Oklahoma City

Elliot Crawford

Kimberly Miller

Pamela Stillings

Matt McRorie

 
 

DefenseTeam

Tony Coleman (2015 Clarence Darrow Award)

Johnny Albert (1994 Clarence Darrow Award)

Merle Gile (1990 Clarence Darrow Award)

David Autry (1989 Clarence Darrow Award)

Jarrod Stevenson (2012 Clarence Darrow Award)

J. W. Coyle, III (1995 Clarence Darrow Award)

Tommy Adler

Robert Ravitz (1996 Clarence Darrow Award)

David McKenzie (1997 Clarence Darrow Award)

 

 

OSU TRAGEDY: A horrific tragedy overshadowed the football homecoming game in Stillwater on Saturday when a woman, allegedly under the influence, drove her car into a crowd of people, killing four persons and injuring many more. The suspect has been identified as Adacia Avery Chambers.

ATTORNEY ARRESTED: Oklahoma City attorney Robert Golden Boren has been arrested and accused of fraud in connection with adoptions.

3-YEAR-OLD DRIVER: An intoxicated woman fell out of her pickup truck in Ada, but her 3-year-old took the wheel and drive it several blocks.

WAGONER COUNTY: At least four employees of the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Department have testified before a multi-county grand jury investigating allegations of misconduct within the Department.

TROOPER FIRED: An OHP Trooper was fired and two others disciplined for “frat house” partying at a narcotics training program during which included excessive drinking and sex with a female game warden.

 

 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12 & FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015: The sixth annual Barry Albert Memorial Mock Trial: Learning from the Oklahoma Criminal Jury Trial Masters, will take place in mid-November, this year in the moot courtroom at the Oklahoma City University School of Law.

 

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OKLAHOMA CRIMINAL DEFENSE WEEKLY

ABOUT THE OCDW: The Oklahoma Criminal Defense Weekly is compiled, maintained, edited and distributed weekly by attorney James L. Hankins. Archived issues can be obtained by contacting Mr. Hankins directly, although some of them are on the web site at www.ocdw.com. OCDW accepts no money from sponsors. Mr. Hankins is solely responsible for its content. The OCDW web site is maintained by Spark Line.

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