Criminal Law
Bar Association Alleges Oklahoma District Attorney Withheld Evidence
The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) has lodged a disciplinary complaint against District 18 District Attorney Farley Ward alleging he withheld information from defense attorneys in a 2009 first-degree murder case. The Bar has also filed a complaint against defense attorney Rex Starr, who defended Clinton R. Potts in the 2009 case. Potts was convicted for […] Read more »Oklahoma Supreme Court Throws Wrench in Intoxilyzer 8000 Breathalyzer
A January 28, 2014, Oklahoma Supreme Court decision makes it difficult — if not impossible — for the state to continue revoking drivers licenses based on evidence provided by the current generation of breath analysis machinery. Currently anyone arrested for DUI in Oklahoma who blows a .08 or more (or refuses to blow) has their […] Read more »Oklahoma Speedtrap Law Ensnares Stringtown Cops
In Stringtown, Oklahoma, south of McAlister, city police are on the job – but they are not allowed to patrol highways looking for traffic violations in the town of 400. That could include US Hwy. 69 and Oklahoma Highway 43, dubbed Reba McEnteire Ave. through parts of Stringtown. Stringtown cops found themselves on the wrong […] Read more »Miami Cop Faces Obstruction Beef, Hubby Fired as Porter Top Cop
Obstruction charges and internal investigations sent local cops to the bench in two Oklahoma towns while unhappy officials in another fired their only remaining officer. A newly hired Wagoner police officer on Jan. 9, 2013, pleaded not guilty to obstructing a police officer. Wagoner County Sheriff’s investigators allege Sgt. Shalyn Jay surrendered the wrong cell […] Read more »Memphis Man's Social Media "Like" Leads to Arrest on Restraining Order
A Memphis man has reportedly been arrested for “liking” a photo posted on a social media site depicting a woman who had a restraining order against him. The fact that a person can be charged with violating a protective order for responding to an implicit invitation to “like” a social media post seems strange enough. […] Read more »Steps in a Criminal Case: Misdemeanors in Tulsa County District Court
When you’re arrested and charged with one or more misdemeanors in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the arrest itself can seem like punishment. You might be handcuffed, detained, photographed, deprived of personal property, and even jailed. You could be yelled at and likely verbally accused by uniformed officers. The experience is sometimes traumatic, but arrest is just one […] Read more »Flawed Oklahoma DUI Procedures Could Bring Refunds in License Revocations
Thousands of drivers who paid fees to have their drivers licenses reinstated after Oklahoma DUI arrests could be in line to receive refunds from the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. The revocations could also be expunged from their records if they prevail in a class-action lawsuit filed in Tulsa County District Court Dec. 2. 2013. […] Read more »Mannford Couple Allege Malicious Prosecution in Botched Drug Raid
A Wirth Law Office client has filed a federal civil rights suit alleging malicious prosecution when police raided her home based on a search warrant that targeted a nearby residence. The woman and her husband filed the federal case against Creek County after a court dismissed bogus charges stemming from the raid. Wirth Law Office […] Read more »Synthetic Marijuana Case Dismissed
A judge this week dismissed charges against an Okmulgee County retailer accused of selling synthetic marijuana after an attorney for Wirth Law Office pointed out that particular substances sold as potpourri or incense were not illegal at the time police raided the retail location. Legislators had earmarked a chemical in the blend to be added […] Read more »Drivers License Restored in Oklahoma Reckless Driving Case
A man who paid a reckless driving ticket didn’t know the routine handling of a traffic citation could cost him his license. Fortunately for him, he had a right to know. A law that was in place for just one year increased the number of points assessed against a drivers license for reckless driving from […] Read more »Oklahoma's Pay Per Conviction Laws Create Conflict of Interest
“If you cannot afford an attorney and desire one, the court will appoint one for you.” That is what police officers are required to tell every person arrested for a crime in the United States. In Oklahoma, since Nov. 1, 2013, there’s more to it. The unstated message to those arrested in Oklahoma is “If […] Read more »Was New Mexico Man's 15-hour Ordeal a Cavity Search or Rape?
It’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 »Tulsa Protective Order Defense Attorney
Protective orders, also called restraining orders, can be useful tools for preventing interpersonal violence. Unfortunately, the easy-to-obtain orders have at times been abused to gain leverage in divorce, to influence a child custody decision, or even just to embarrass the other party in a dispute. If you’ve been served a temporary restraining order, it’s important […] Read more »Tulsa Pardon Attorney
Representation in the Oklahoma Pardon Process You’ve done your time and now you want a fresh start. Oklahoma law allows the governor to pardon those who have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. A Tulsa pardon attorney can help you determine if you are ready to ask for official forgiveness. If so, he or […] Read more »Tulsa Expungement Attorney
Expungement: Almost Like It Never Happened Are old court records making it difficult for you to find employment, win trust of colleagues, or pass background checks? You might need the counsel of a Tulsa expungement attorney. Many people who have a brush with the law reach deferred prosecution agreements that let them comply with conditions […] Read more »Tulsa Asset Forfeiture Attorney
It’s Your Money: Let Us Prove It Critics call it a travesty of due process – an inherent violation of constitutional rights. Victims might call it a ripoff or legalized highway robbery. Tulsa asset forfeiture has nonetheless become a standard police tool, albeit one that makes police appear to be bounty hunters. In many Oklahoma […] Read more »Tulsa Misdemeanor Defense Attorney
A Lawyer Knows: It’s Never “Just” a Misdemeanor Oklahoma statutes define misdemeanors as any crime not punishable by imprisonment in a penitentiary or capital punishment. Misdemeanor charges can arise from a DUI arrest, insufficient funds for a check you wrote, a misunderstanding about merchandise you purchased in a store, a verbal dispute with someone in […] Read more »Tulsa Criminal Defense Attorney
An Ally When Your Reputation is On the Line The criminal defense attorneys at Wirth Law Office provide the expertise you need when criminal charges threaten your future. Whether you are charged with a minor misdemeanor or a major felony, Tulsa criminal defense attorney James Wirth and the experienced Oklahoma defense attorneys at Wirth Law […] Read more »Rogers County DA Cites Silkwood, Accuses Sheriff of Malicious Libel
The day after a Tulsa judge tossed out a petition containing 6,994 signatures of Rogers County residents seeking a grand jury investigation of Rogers County officials, the district attorney and two assistants named as targets of the grand jury petition filed a libel action against petition sponsors – including the sheriff, a city detective and […] Read more »How to Petition for a Grand Jury in Oklahoma
Oklahoma is among at least six states that allow citizens to petition courts to empanel a grand jury that may investigate allegations of crimes. In Oklahoma, the citizens right is enshrined in the state constitution’s Bill of Rights. Like most rights, the right to petition for a grand jury in Oklahoma comes with some obligations. […] Read more »Appeals Court Tosses Faulty Oklahoma DUI Revocation Affidavit
An Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has upheld a trial court’s decision to toss out a police officer’s revocation affidavit because it was legally inadequate. The decision means the driver who appealed a DUI revocation gets to keep her Oklahoma drivers license after being arrested for DUI. The decision calls into question potentially thousands of […] Read more »
Rogers County DA Pays Newspaper Publisher to Write Press Releases
Asks Sheriff to Investigate Police Chief’s Courthouse Visit Ongoing conflict among law enforcement officials and the Rogers County District Attorney just keeps getting more tangled. It’s a story fiction editors might reject as implausible or too complex – unless it were written with the flair of Shakespeare whose witch in MacBeth chants “fair is foul […] Read more »
Everybody is Guilty Under Oklahoma's Zero-tolerance Metabolite DUI-D Law
Oklahoma’s new metabolite DUI law sets the strictest standard possible for evidence of forbidden drugs potentially found in drivers’ blood. The standard is so strict that, technically speaking, everyone who gets behind the wheel is guilty of violating the law. Those who are in pain, even more so. Sound unbelievable? Here’s how it works. Instead […] Read more »
Past Pot Use Can Be an Crime Under Oklahoma's New Zero-tolerance DUI-D Law
Police call it DUI-D. A new law that takes effect today, Oct. 1, 2013, makes it a crime for anyone driving in Oklahoma to have any detectable amount of marijuana in their blood, saliva, urine or “other bodily fluids.” Drivers on Oklahoma highways need to be wary. Police may soon be using new tactics to […] Read more »
Do Parts of the Oklahoma Violent Offender Registry Law Deny Equal Protection?
The reasoning behind a September 2013 Oklahoma Supreme Court decision striking down a portion of the Oklahoma sex offender registry law appears to call into question portions of the Oklahoma violent offender registry law. In Hendricks v Jones, 2013 OK 71 the court stated: “We hold applying SORA’s requirements to sex offenders now residing in […] Read more »
