OCDW 01.18.16

 

(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State v. Jeremy Preston Mayer, No. S-2015-445 (Okl.Cr., January 14, 2016) (unpublished): Speedy Trial; State Appeals: Mayer was charged in Cleveland County with Larceny of Merchandise. He alleged pro se that his right to a speedy trial was violated. Special Judge Steven Stice granted the motion (as well as a motion to dismiss for failing to prosecute) and dismissed with prejudice. The State appealed, and in this opinion, the Court reversed, analyzing the Barker v. Wingo factors against Mayer. NOTE: Judge Lewis dissented in three sentences, completely disagreeing with the majority that the delay was attributable to Mayer. In this opinion, Judge Hudson states that Judge Stice “sustained” the motions. As a matter of accepted usage, this is incorrect. Motions are granted or denied. Objections are sustained or overruled. The proper way to say it is that the motions were granted.

State v. Donna Long and Lillian Shipman, No. S-2015-87 (Okl.Cr., January 14, 2016) (unpublished): State Appeals; Financial Exploitation: Long and Shipman were charged in Oklahoma County with two counts of Financial Exploitation by Caretaker. At PH, the Hon. Larry A. Jones bound them over, but Judge Donald L. Deason granted motions to quash, and the State appealed. In this opinion, the Court affirmed. NOTE: This opinion contains a good discussion of the elements of the crime of Financial Exploitation. Also, Judge Smith dissented.

Brandon Chase Ryan v. Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, No. 114,375 (Okla. Civ. App., Div. III, January 15, 2016) (Not for Official Publication): DUI (DPS): District court denial of motion to set aside revocation order is reversed on the basis that the fourteenth month delay between notice of revocation and the hearing violated the Due Process rights of Ryan to a speedy trial.

 

 

“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.

 

 

COLLIN ROCKETT & ROBERT GROSHON, OKC, represented clients charged with Financial Exploitation of Caretaker in Oklahoma County. They convinced Judge Deason to grant motions to quash the Information, the State appealed, and then they won again in the OCCA in the Long case cited above. Nice work, Collin and Robert!

KEN SUE DOERFEL, Lawton, represented a client charged with possession of CDS, after six prior felony convictions. She demurred on the basis of “mere proximity” and the court sustained the demurrer. She also argued a suppression issue in a different case which resulted in six out of seven counts being dismissed against a different client. Nice work, Ken Sue!

RIP JOEL BARR: Longtime attorney Joel Barr, who passed away recently, was honored at the Cleveland County Courthouse.

 

 

MARSHAL POSITION BACK: The position of Marshal of the Court, which had been dormant for 10 years, has been re-instated by the City of Enid, which is taking applications.

PROFILE: Nice profile article of attorney James Kee, attorney in Duncan who has been in the trenches for almost 50 years.

PROFILE II: This article profiles newly appointed District Judge Kelly Morgan Greenough (Tulsa and Pawnee Counties).

SAFE OKLAHOMA TOWNS: Coming in at number five is the town of Hulbert!

CASE DISMISSED: Judge Musseman (Tulsa Count) dismissed charges in a 7-year-old murder case (the State maintains that there is not enough evidence).

JUDGE REMEMBERED: Judge Sam Sullivan, apparently a colorful jurist down south, was remembered recently at a gathering at Three Valley Museum in Durant.

ACTING SHERIFF RESIGNS: Acting Tulsa County Sheriff Rick Wigel announced his retirement after a contentious budget meeting. Chief Deputy John Bowman also has announced his retirement. In the wake of this news, Chief Deputy Michelle Robinette has assumed the role of acting Sheriff.

METH BUST: OBN agents seize 121 pounds of meth.

OSCN UPDATE: OSCN has added nine more district courts.

NOLA BUDGET WOES: Indigent criminal defendants in New Orleans are being told that there is no representation as a result of budget issues.

ROBBERIES DOWN: The number of bank robberies in Oklahoma has declined in 2015.

SHAKEDOWN: A new device called a Cellsense tower is assisting DOC find contraband.

NEW CHIEF: Nichols Hills has a new police chief, Steve Cox.

APPOINTMENT: Gov. Fallin has appointed Adam Luck to the Board of Corrections.

ONE-PUNCH HOMICIDE: In an unusual plea agreement, a man gets 90-days in jail for punching another man that ended in death.

WILLIAM S. KEY CORRECTIONAL CENTER: Key Correctional Center touts its programs for inmates.

FORMER UNDERSHERIFF CHARGED: A former Undersheriff in Seminole County has been charged with embezzlement.

 

WACKY CRIME

OHP had a cruiser stolen, with a K-9 inside, which was recovered safe and sound; man arrested for meth found in his belly button; car burglar turns self in, demands to be taken to jail—wish granted; Push County woman accused of stealing food stamps from inmates—complete with smiling mug shot; man stops traffic in Choctaw County by pointing loaded rifle at cars because he thought the Ku Klux Klan was after him.

 

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016: State and Federal Gun Laws: When Worlds Collide: This is a 5-hour CLE presented by the OCDLA and will take place at H&H Shooting Sports, 400 N. Vermont Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73108.

 

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SUBMISSIONS: To subscribe to the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Weekly just send an e-mail to James L. Hankins at jameshankins@ocdw.com and include the e- mail address to which you want the issues to be delivered. I am sending out the issues for free now to whoever wants to receive them. Submissions of articles, war stories, letters, victory stories, comments or questions can be sent to Mr. Hankins via e-mail or you can contact him by phone at 405.753.4150, by fax at 405.445.4956, or by regular mail at James L. Hankins, TIMBERBROOKE BUSINESS CENTER, 929 N.W. 164^th St., Edmond, OK 73013.

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.

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT & DISCLAIMER: ©2005-2016 by James L. Hankins. All rights reserved. OCDW hereby grants free use of these materials for any non-commercial purpose provided that proper credit to the OCDW is given. In the event that copyrighted works are included in an edition of the OCDW such works may not be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder because under federal law the OCDW has no authority to allow the reproduction of the intellectual property of others. For purposes that go beyond “fair use” of the copyrighted material under federal law, the permission of the copyright holder must be obtained. If you are a copyright holder and object to any portion of an issue of the OCDW, please contact the publisher, James L. Hankins, at the contact information above (located under the SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SUBMISSIONS section). Finally, the materials presented in this newsletter are for informational purposes only, and are not, nor intended to be, legal advice or to create an attorney-client relationship. You should consult an experienced attorney licensed in your jurisdiction for legal advice applicable to the specific facts of your case. Cases are summarized in each weekly issue as they are issued and filed by the respective court, and are thus subject to being withdrawn, corrected, vacated, and/or modified or reversed without notice. Always conduct your own research!

UNSUBSCRIBE

If you have received this e-mail in error, or no longer wish to receive the weekly newsletter, simply reply to the message, or send a new message, to jameshankins@ocdw.com and type in “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line, along with your name and e-mail address and you will be taken off the mailing list.