Tulsa Attorney Blog
Oklahoma Cop's DNA Transfer Defense Exposes Flaws in Touch DNA Evidence
Shreds of Evidence Are Not Always Reliable A defense attorney representing an Oklahoma City police officer facing six counts of first-degree rape told jurors a woman’s DNA found inside the officer’s pants is not evidence that he raped her. “It’s transfer DNA,” the attorney argued in the November, 2015 trial of Daniel Holtzclaw. Whether the […] Read more »Why You Need a Good Oklahoma Defense Attorney
Although a good Oklahoma criminal defense attorney can sometimes turn the tables on steamroller prosecution, effective criminal defense requires preparation and resources. Take a look at how capital defense attorneys in Virginia brought executions to a near standstill after criminal defense teams got the resources required to provide proper representation. Read more »Oklahoma Criminal Law: Evidence Stacks Up Against Forensic Evidence
Forensic experts at a Texas crime lab are walking back claims that DNA evidence singled out defendants with 1-in-a-million certainty. It is part of a pattern of errors, lies, neglect, conflicts of interest and exaggeration among forensic labs nationwide. Criminal defense attorneys in Oklahoma must challenge misplaced trust in forensic evidence. Read more »Court Revokes Oklahoma Protective Order Issued by County Judge
An Oklahoma appeals court said a district court abused its discretion in a protective order involving threats alleged during an international online chat. The appeals court said district courts must consider whether an allegation indicates a credible threat before granting an order of protection from domestic abuse. The decision suggests attorneys for protective order defense in Oklahoma can rely on the state's appeals courts to carefully review lower courts that rubber stamp petitions for domestic restraining orders. Read more »Police Officers Arrested in Oklahoma More Often Than You Might Think
Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz is one of more than a dozen Oklahoma law enforcement officers charged with crimes in 2015. Other officers were charged with assault and battery against suspects, sex crimes involving minors and drunken driving. A Tulsa criminal defense attorney compiled this list. Read more »Client Review: Child Custody Lawyer in Tulsa
A Wirth Law Office Tulsa family law client talks about his experience at a family law hearing where he was represented by Tulsa child custody lawyer James Wirth. Read more »Oklahoma Court Finds No Right to Resist Illegal Detention
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals refusal to suppress evidence of resisting arrest during an illegal traffic stop removes an important deterrent to police misconduct. The court said people may reasonably resist illegal arrest but may not lawfully resist illegal detention. A Tulsa defense attorney says people often have no way of knowing whether they are illegally detained or illegally arrested. Read more »Possession of Selfies Convictions Highlight Overly Broad Child Pornography Laws
Are some teen's selfies illegal? Laws that criminalize children for having their own pictures on their cell phones might not pass strict scrutiny for limits on free speech. The question arises from a North Carolina case where teens where charged with felonies for their naked selfies. A Tulsa criminal lawyer says It could happen in Oklahoma, too. Read more »Court Overturns Part of Oklahoma Drug Dealer Liability Act
The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down part of the drug dealer liability law that created broad market share liability for distributors of illegal drugs. Tulsa injury attorneys may still file claims against drug dealers whose activities can be tied to individuals named in a drug dealer liability lawsuit. Read more »Oklahoma Child Support Collection Agency Offers August Amnesty
Before you contact the Oklahoma child support collection agency, you may do well to contact an Tulsa child support attorney to explore your options. Read more »More Charges Filed in Rogers County Scandal
New charges filed against a current and a former Rogers County Commissioner mirror allegations leveled in a citizens grand jury petition. Read more »Legislature Reforms Oklahoma Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Criminal defense attorneys in Tulsa will have new opportunities to argue for probation or alternative sentences under new Oklahoma mandatory minimum sentence reforms. Read more »What Does Obstructing an Officer Mean in Tulsa Oklahoma?
Some criticism of police is protected speech, yet contempt of cop cases are often masked as disorderly conduct, resisting, and obstructing an officer charges. 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 »Free To Go? Oklahoma Court Decides Consent to Search Case
In an unpublished consent to search case, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decided a man did not voluntarily consent to a search after police blocked the sidewalk where he was walking. Citing Florida v. Royer, the appellate judges said it was the State's burden to show “clear and convincing” proof that the search was consensual. Read more »Two Second Rule Simulator for Oklahoma Drivers
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. Read more »Oklahoma Court Affirms Life Sentence in Error Ridden Hit and Run Case
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. Read more »Appeals Court Details Oklahoma Rules of Statutory Construction
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. Read more »Wirth Law Exposé Led to End of Oklahoma Parenting Time Penalty
Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services child support calculations financially penalized some non-custodial parents for spending time with their children until this Tulsa law firm exposed practice in blog posts and letter to Oklahoma news outlets. Read more »Oklahoma Appeals Court Does U-Turn on Tailgating Law
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... Read more »Former Rogers County Commissioner Charged With 2011 Embezzlement
The former Rogers County Commissioner who filed a libel suit against critics over a petition that asked a grand jury to investigate embezzlement allegations has been charged with embezzlement. A Claremore detective who circulated the petition was among those who first investigated the embezzlement allegations -- two years before the citizens' petition sought a grand jury investigation. Read more »10th Circuit Reverses Oklahoma Constructive Possession Conviction
A driver convicted on federal charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute won his freedom back when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit overturned the conviction. The April 22, 2015 decision said a jury could infer guilt based on arguments that the man knew his passenger was carrying 14 bricks of marijuana and about an ounce of methamphetamine in a duffel bag. Yet the evidence was insufficient, the court said, to find guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Read more »Police Cannot Delay Drivers While Waiting for Drug Dogs
Police 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. Defense lawyers 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 »Two Tulsa Lawyers Bring 40 Years Experience to Wirth Law Office
Wirth Law Office announces the addition of Tulsa attorneys Tracey E. Persons and Randall K. Gause to our team of zealous legal practitioners. Ms. Persons represents clients in family and criminal law matters. Mr. Gause will provide expedited service in our personal injury division. Read more »Oklahoma Juvenile Certification Case Raises 8th Amendment Questions
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. Read more »Oklahoma Town Dismisses Dozens of Distracted Driving Traffic Tickets
Oklahoma law allows police to write a full time and attention to driving traffic ticket only when a distracted driver poses a specific danger or is involved in an accident. Police in Durant had cited drivers for such dubious distractions as eating a hamburger while driving and for having a dog in the front seat. Read more »
