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RE-2003-397

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In OCCA case No. RE-2003-397, the appellant appealed his conviction for multiple offenses including drug possession and firearms charges. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the revocation of his suspended sentences. One judge dissented. The case involved Michael Wayne Hackler, who had been previously convicted in three separate cases. He was given five years of suspended sentences for felony and misdemeanor drug and firearm offenses. However, the state claimed he violated his probation by committing new crimes, which led to a petition to revoke his suspended sentences. During the revocation hearing, the judge decided that some evidence obtained against Hackler could not be used to revoke his probation due to improper police actions. However, the judge also ruled that the police behavior was not serious enough to apply a rule that would prevent that evidence from being considered in the revocation hearing. After examining the evidence, the court found that the appellant had indeed violated the terms of his probation and revoked his suspended sentences. The judge’s rulings were questioned, but the appeals court agreed that there was no major mistake in how the judge made his decisions. However, the court did note that the written sentences needed to be changed to show the correct punishments for some of the misdemeanor charges. In the end, the appeals court upheld the decision of the lower court to revoke the suspended sentences and ordered corrections to be made to the judgments regarding the sentences imposed.

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RE-2003-455

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In OCCA case No. RE-2003-455, Janis Gale McAbee appealed her conviction for the unlawful possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the revocation of her suspended sentence. One judge dissented. McAbee had originally pled guilty to the charges and received a five-year suspended sentence, which meant she would not have to serve time in prison if she followed the rules of her probation. However, the state claimed that she broke those rules by committing new crimes. A petition was filed to revoke her suspended sentence, and during the hearing, the judge decided that the evidence collected by the police could still be used in the revocation hearing even if it may have been obtained inappropriately. The judge believed that the police did not act so wrongly that it would be shocking or unfair. After hearing the evidence, the judge found that McAbee had violated her probation. Even though she argued that the evidence was not enough to support the revocation, the court disagreed and said that what was found was enough to prove she broke the rules. In the end, the court decided to keep McAbee's sentence as it was but ordered a correction to the records to show that one of her sentences should actually have been one year instead of five years. The court affirmed the lower court's decision while making this correction.

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RE-2003-640

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In OCCA case No. RE-2003-640, the appellant appealed his conviction for the revocation of his suspended sentence. In a published decision, the court decided to reverse the district court's order revoking the appellant's suspended sentence. One judge dissented. The appellant had a one-year suspended sentence, and the State filed a request to revoke it. The appellant said he did not do anything wrong and pleaded not guilty. A hearing took place, and the court decided to revoke his sentence. The appellant then appealed this decision. Later, the court found that the first court should not have revoked the sentence because of a timing issue. The appellant's waiver to shorten the waiting period was not done on time. Since this was a mistake, the appeals court decided to dismiss the request to revoke his sentence and canceled the earlier decision. As a result, the appellant's original sentence was not revoked, and he was no longer under that revoked sentence.

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F-2002-1351

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In OCCA case No. F-2002-1351, Barrett appealed his conviction for First Degree Murder. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial. One judge dissented. Randy Barrett was found guilty of First Degree Murder in a trial. The jury said he should go to prison for life and pay a fine. Barrett thought the judge and the jury made mistakes. He raised several points in his appeal, saying there were errors during his trial. One of the main issues was that Barrett's lawyer did not tell him about the lesser charges that he could have been found guilty of instead of First Degree Murder. Barrett felt that he didn’t understand this and claimed his lawyer gave him bad advice. Barrett wanted to fight for a chance to potentially get a lesser sentence but didn’t pursue it because he was worried his lawyer said that mentioning those charges could lead to a longer prison sentence. Barrett argued that the evidence against him didn’t really support the murder charge, especially the claim about kidnapping the victim as part of the crime. He also thought the jury saw unfair photographs that shouldn’t have been leaked during the trial, hurting his chance for a fair trial. Additionally, he believed his lawyer wasn’t allowed to explain certain details about the case, which affected the way the jury viewed his actions. The court looked carefully at Barrett’s complaint. It found that Barrett was right in saying his lawyer didn't give him good advice about applying for the lesser charges. This misguidance led Barrett to give up an important option that could have benefited him. The court pointed out that Barrett’s lawyer was confused and didn't accurately inform him about his chances for parole based on different sentences. Because of these mistakes by his lawyer, the court decided that Barrett deserved another trial to get a fair chance. They reversed the earlier decision and sent the case back to start again. One judge disagreed with this choice, believing that Barrett was a smart individual who made a choice in consultation with his lawyer and understanding the risks.

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F-2002-1437

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In OCCA case No. F-2002-1437, Alonzo Gabriel Davison appealed his conviction for Lewd Molestation and Sexually Abusing a Minor Child. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm his convictions but modify his sentences. One judge dissented. Davison was found guilty of two serious crimes related to child abuse and was sentenced to a total of 125 years in prison. However, the court agreed that some mistakes were made during the trial that affected how the case was handled. The main issues in the appeal included the fairness of the jury selection process, the admission of a videotape of a child’s testimony, and how the judge handled questions from the jury about sentencing. Davison argued that two jurors should not have been allowed to serve because they were biased and had strong feelings about child abuse, which could have impacted their decision. The court discussed how judges have discretion in deciding if a juror can be fair, but in this case, they felt that there were too many doubts about the impartiality of those jurors. Even though Davison's team challenged these jurors, they still ended up on the jury. However, because the defense did not follow all proper procedures to ensure their objections were raised correctly, the court ruled that Davison could not claim this issue harmed him in the end. Next, Davison argued that a videotape showing an interview with one of the child victims should not have been used in court. The court eventually agreed this was a mistake, but they decided it was a harmless error regarding his guilt—that is, it did not affect the jury's decision about whether he was guilty. However, the impact of such evidence on sentencing was considered more serious, leading the court to reduce each of his sentences to 45 years, which would run at the same time instead of one after the other. Regarding the jury's questions about parole and sentencing rules, the court concluded the trial judge was correct not to answer these questions, indicating that it was within the judge's discretion. Overall, while the court found some mistakes were made in how the trial was conducted, they decided that Davison's convictions were still valid, but he would serve a lighter sentence.

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RE 2003-0857

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In OCCA case No. RE 2003-0857, #Montgomery appealed his conviction for #Burglary, Second Degree. In an unpublished decision, the court decided #to affirm the revocation of his suspended sentence, but modified the length of the revocation to three years. #One judge dissented. Montgomery had initially pled guilty to burglary and was given a chance to stay out of prison under certain rules for four years. However, he broke the rules multiple times. The state asked the court to impose his sentence because he did not keep a job, did not pay the money he owed, and committed new crimes like driving without a license. The judge revoked a large portion of his sentence for these reasons. On appeal, Montgomery argued that the judge had no right to take away three and a half years of his sentence and that the punishment was too harsh. The court found that while the judge made a mistake in calculating the time, the decision to revoke the sentence was not seen as overly harsh, so they changed the revocation from three and a half years to three years instead.

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F-2003-405

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In OCCA case No. F-2003-405, Clarence Edward Reed appealed his conviction for Unlawful Possession of Controlled Drug, After Former Conviction of Two or More Felonies. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm Reed's conviction but modified his sentence to six years in prison instead of eight. One judge dissented on part of the decision.

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F-2003-257

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In OCCA case No. F-2003-257, Gregory Kyle Malone appealed his conviction for First Degree Burglary and Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon. In a published decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction for First Degree Burglary but affirmed the conviction for Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon. One judge dissented. Malone was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to twenty years in prison for burglary and forty years in prison for robbery. During the trial, he argued that there were mistakes made, including incorrect jury instructions and insufficient evidence for the burglary charge. Malone claimed the court made an error by allowing the jury to convict him based on instructions that included an offense he wasn’t charged with. The burglary charge required proof that he intended to commit robbery or assault when he broke into the house, but the jury was given broader instructions that didn't align with the specifics of his charge. This was seen as a violation of his rights, as he should have been able to defend against the exact crime he was accused of. The court agreed with Malone on this point, determining that the trial court had provided wrong instructions that could have influenced the jury's decision. As a result, they reversed the conviction for First Degree Burglary. However, they affirmed the conviction for Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon, finding that the evidence against him was strong enough for that charge. In conclusion, the court reversed the first charge of First Degree Burglary and kept the second charge of Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon, which meant Malone would go back to court for the burglary charge.

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F-2003-719

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In OCCA case No. F-2003-719, Timothy Phipps appealed his conviction for Robbery With a Weapon, After Former Conviction of a Felony. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm Appellant's conviction but modify the sentence. One judge dissented. Phipps was found guilty by a jury in the District Court of Muskogee County and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, with five of those years suspended. The court found that the jury had been mistakenly instructed about the minimum punishment. They believed they were allowed to sentence him to a minimum that was not accurate due to his past conviction from Arkansas. Because of this mistake, the court changed his sentence to ten years in prison with five years suspended. The court carefully reviewed everything in the case and determined that the mistake about the punishment made a difference in how the sentence was decided.

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F 2003-443

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In OCCA case No. F 2003-443, Kenneth Linn Walker appealed his conviction for multiple serious crimes, including thirteen counts of First Degree Rape and nine counts of Forcible Oral Sodomy, among others. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm most of the convictions but reversed one count related to Sexual Exploitation of a Child. One judge dissented. Walker was found guilty after a jury trial held in Oklahoma County. The judge sentenced him to a total of 300 years in prison. Walker raised several arguments in his appeal. First, he claimed that the court did not have the power to charge him because some of the accusations were too old and past the legal time limits for prosecution. The court decided that most of the charges were filed on time, but the one charge related to Sexual Exploitation of a Child was not. Walker also argued that he did not have enough time to prepare a proper defense and that he was not given a fair trial because some evidence was kept from him. However, the court found that the requirements for the charges were clear enough that he could adequately prepare for his defense. Regarding the evidence presented, Walkers’ lawyers contended that the witness testimonies should not have been enough to convict him. Nonetheless, the court ruled that the testimonies were credible and strong enough to support the convictions. In summary, the court upheld the majority of Walker's convictions but found that one charge was incorrectly handled because the legal time limit had passed. As a result, they reversed that specific charge while keeping the rest of the convictions intact.

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J-2003-1180

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In OCCA case No. J-2003-1180, T.C.S. appealed his conviction for second-degree burglary. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the District Court's decision and remand the case for a new trial. One judge dissented. T.C.S. was found to be delinquent after a hearing where he was accused of committing burglary when he was 16 years old. The court looked at evidence and decided that the testimony from an accomplice needed to be supported by more evidence to connect T.C.S. to the crime. Since the only supporting evidence showed that T.C.S. was in the same place as the accomplice later that night, it was not enough to prove he committed the burglary. The judges agreed that for a conviction based on an accomplice's testimony, there must be more proof that ties the defendant to the crime. As such, since this was not met, the judges reversed the earlier decision and said T.C.S. deserves a new trial.

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SR-2003-276

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In OCCA case No. SR-2003-276, Stephen Lee Terry appealed his conviction for indecent or lewd acts with a child under sixteen. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the trial court's ruling that dismissed the charges against him. One judge dissented. The case started when Terry was caught secretly videotaping young girls, aged eight to twelve, at a public place. He admitted that he watched these videos for sexual gratification. The court had to decide if his actions were considered a crime under the law. For the law to apply, it needed to be proven that he looked at the body or private parts of the girls, which is one of the elements that must be shown in such cases. The trial court ruled in Terry's favor, stating that simply filming clothed girls in a public space did not meet the legal definition required for the charge against him. While Terry's actions might be seen as inappropriate or offensive, the court concluded that what he did did not violate the law according to the specific requirements set out. Thus, they confirmed the trial court's decision.

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F-2003-505

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In OCCA case No. F-2003-505, the appellant appealed his conviction for Maintaining a Place for Keeping/Selling Controlled Substances. In an unpublished decision, the court decided that a new trial was required because the jury was not properly instructed about the elements necessary for a felony conviction. The appellant argued that the jury was not asked whether he knowingly or intentionally maintained a place for keeping controlled substances, which was important for the severity of the penalty. Thus, the decision to impose a five-year prison sentence and a fine of $10,000 exceeded what the law allowed. Therefore, the court reversed the appellant's conviction and sent the case back for a new trial. One judge dissented from this decision.

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C-2003-848

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In OCCA case No. C-2003-848, Todd Wayne McFarland appealed his conviction for Sexual Battery and Rape by Instrumentation. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to allow McFarland to withdraw his plea due to being denied effective assistance of counsel. One member of the court dissented. McFarland had entered a no contest plea after being told by his attorney that he could receive a deferred sentence. However, it turned out that he was not eligible for this type of sentence. McFarland argued that he would not have pleaded no contest if he had known the correct information. After reviewing all the records and evidence, the court agreed that McFarland’s attorney had given him incorrect advice and that this affected his decision to plead. Therefore, the court felt he should be allowed to change his plea.

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F-2002-1454

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In OCCA case No. F-2002-1454, Richard Val Crews appealed his conviction for multiple serious crimes including Rape by Instrumentation, Forcible Sodomy, Kidnapping, Robbery, and others. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse one of the convictions related to the possession of a firearm after conviction, allowing for a new trial on that count. The other convictions were affirmed. One judge dissented, suggesting that the case should be dismissed rather than retried.

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F-2003-1145

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In OCCA case No. F-2003-1145, James Lee Wiggins appealed his conviction for Knowingly Concealing Stolen Property. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction but modified the sentence to eight years of imprisonment instead of ten. One judge dissented. Wiggins was found guilty by a jury and received a sentence of ten years for concealing stolen property after having prior felony convictions. He raised several issues in his appeal. He argued that evidence of his past crimes unfairly influenced the jury and that improper comments during his trial led to an inflated sentence. Additionally, he stated that his case should be sent back to change the judgment so he could receive credit for the time he had already served. Lastly, he claimed that all these errors together made his trial unfair. Upon reviewing the case, the court agreed that some errors occurred, particularly regarding how the prosecution questioned Wiggins about his past prison time. However, they believed that these mistakes did not change the verdict of guilty. They also confirmed that he should receive credit for the time served due to a clerical error in his judgment. In the end, Wiggins' conviction was maintained, but the court reduced his sentence and directed the trial court to correct the judgment to ensure he received credit for the time he served.

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F 2004-269

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In OCCA case No. F 2004-269, Edward Lee Cox, Jr. appealed his conviction for Shooting with Intent to Kill, Robbery with Firearms, and Larceny of an Automobile. In an unpublished decision, the court decided that his conviction for Robbery with Firearms should be reversed and dismissed, while the convictions for the other two counts were affirmed. One judge dissented.

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F-2003-1089

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In OCCA case No. F-2003-1089, Micah Ananias Horn appealed his conviction for Committing Indecent or Lewd Acts with a Child. In a published decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand the case for a new trial. One judge dissented. Horn was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison. He argued that several things were wrong with his trial. First, he said he didn't get a fair trial because the jury saw video evidence about a lie detector test, which is not allowed in court. He also claimed his confession was not given freely and that the prosecutor unfairly tried to make the jury feel sorry for the victim. Horn believed there wasn't enough evidence to show he did something sexual, and he thought the way the prosecutor spoke during the trial was unfair and confusing. After looking closely at all the information, the court agreed with Horn on two main points. The first was that the mention of the lie detector test could have influenced the jury’s decision and that it was serious enough to affect the outcome. The second point was that the way the prosecutor explained the burden of proof to the jury was incorrect and could confuse them about what beyond a reasonable doubt means. Since these mistakes were significant, the court ruled that Horn's conviction should be overturned, and he should have a new trial to make sure he gets a fair chance to defend himself.

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F 2003-1036

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In OCCA case No. F 2003-1036, Mark Anthony Troutt appealed his conviction for Distribution of Controlled Dangerous Substance (Cocaine). In a published decision, the court decided to reverse his conviction and remand the case for a new trial. One judge dissented. Mark Anthony Troutt was tried and found guilty of distributing cocaine, which is a serious crime. The trial took place in the Oklahoma County District Court. During the trial, Troutt's lawyers argued that he did not receive a fair trial because the judge did not let the jury hear about his defense, which was based on entrapment. Entrapment means that someone was tricked into committing a crime they wouldn’t have done otherwise. The jury decided that Troutt was guilty and gave him a punishment of fifteen years in prison. Troutt did not agree with the decision and decided to appeal, which means he wanted a higher court to review the case. In the appeal, Troutt's lawyers pointed out three main problems with the trial. First, they said the trial judge should have allowed the jury to hear about his defense of entrapment. They believed this was important because the jury needed to decide for themselves if Troutt had been tricked into committing the crime. Second, they claimed that some of the evidence presented during the trial was not relevant and could have unfairly influenced the jury. Third, they argued that together, all these issues made it impossible for Troutt to get a fair trial. After reviewing everything, the court agreed that Troutt had been denied a fair trial. They ruled that the judge's refusal to let the jury consider his entrapment defense was a significant mistake. Because of this, the court decided to reverse Troutt's conviction and ordered a new trial where the jury could properly consider all the evidence, including his defense. The case highlights the importance of a fair legal process and the right for a defendant to have a jury hear their side of the story.

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C-2003-399

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In OCCA case No. C-2003-399, Ronnie Lamar Coulter appealed his conviction for multiple counts including First Degree Rape and Assault with a Deadly Weapon. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm part of the original conviction while reversing the conviction for Count 12, which was for Assault with a Deadly Weapon. One judge dissented. Coulter had pleaded guilty to several serious crimes and was sentenced to a total of 200 years in prison. He later tried to withdraw his guilty plea, but the trial court denied this request. His appeal included complaints about the lack of a recorded sentencing hearing, the harshness of his sentence, and the validity of the Count 12 charge. The court found that Coulter had knowingly and voluntarily entered his plea and that the lack of a recorded hearing did not hinder his ability to appeal. The judges ruled that there wasn’t evidence to suggest that the sentencing was unfair or based on inappropriate information. However, Coulter's appeal concerning Count 12 was granted because the judges agreed that there was no basis for the charge since no battery had been committed as required by law. Thus, the court upheld most of the original convictions but reversed the one regarding Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

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F-2002-1511

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In OCCA case No. F-2002-1511, Helen Rosson appealed her conviction for Unlawful Delivery of a Controlled Drug. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the judgment but modify the sentence to ten years' imprisonment. One judge dissented, suggesting the sentence should only be reduced to forty-five years, not ten. Rosson was convicted after a jury trial where she was sentenced to fifty years and a large fine. She raised several issues on appeal, including being punished twice for a single event, the unfair introduction of other crimes evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, and the excessive nature of her sentence. The court found her convictions did not violate double jeopardy laws, noted that the evidence of other crimes should not have been included, but concluded that it did not unfairly influence the jury's decision on guilt. The sentence was modified due to the impact that the inadmissible evidence had on the jury’s sentencing decision.

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F 2003-193

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In OCCA case No. F 2003-193, Walter Lacurtis Jones appealed his conviction for Domestic Abuse, second and subsequent offense. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction but modified the sentence to one year in the county jail and a fine of fifteen hundred dollars. One judge dissented.

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M-2003-495

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In OCCA case No. M-2003-495, a person appealed his conviction for Assault and Battery. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction but noted that there was a mistake in calculating the court costs. The appellant claimed that the court costs were too high and asked to have them changed. The state agreed that an error was made in the amount of costs. The court ordered that the case be sent back to the District Court to fix the court costs. The appellant also argued that the prosecutor did things that were unfair during the trial, but the court found no reasons to change the verdict since there weren’t any objections during the trial. Therefore, the judgment and sentence were upheld.

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RE-2003-86 and RE-2003-87

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In OCCA case No. RE-2003-86 and RE-2003-87, Christi Marie Farris appealed her conviction for the revocation of her suspended sentences. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the revocation but remanded the case to the district court to order that the sentences be served concurrently. One judge dissented.

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F 2002-1481

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In OCCA case No. F 2002-1481, Anthony John Hathcock appealed his conviction for Omitting To Provide For Minor Child. In a published decision, the court decided to reverse and remand the case for a new acceleration hearing. One judge dissented. Here's what happened: Hathcock pled no contest to the charges in November 2001 and was given a five-year deferred sentence. This means he didn't go to prison right away but had to follow certain rules, like paying child support. He was supposed to pay $100 a month for current support and catch up on a larger amount he owed. However, the State said he failed to make these payments and asked the court to speed up his sentence, which was called accelerating the sentence. A hearing took place in June 2002 where Hathcock represented himself, meaning he didn't have a lawyer. The judge decided that Hathcock broke the rules of his deferred sentence and sentenced him to one year in prison. Hathcock then appealed this decision, saying three main things. First, he claimed he didn’t effectively waive his right to have a lawyer. Second, he argued that the State didn't provide good evidence to justify speeding up his sentence. Third, he pointed out that it was unclear what his new sentence was supposed to be. The court looked at these claims during the appeal. They agreed with Hathcock that he did not properly waive his right to a lawyer and that this was an important issue. Because of this, the court decided to reverse the earlier decision and send it back to the lower court for a new hearing, ensuring that Hathcock would have legal representation this time. Overall, the court's order was that Hathcock's sentence acceleration was not valid as he was not given proper legal help during the initial proceedings.

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