F Archives - Page 32 of 39

F-2002-1428

Post author:Staff
Post published:January 8, 2004
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-1428, Henry C. Flowers, Jr. appealed his conviction for False Declaration of Ownership to a Pawnbroker, After Former Conviction of Two or More Felonies. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm Flowers' conviction but remand the case for resentencing. One judge dissented. Flowers was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to twenty years in prison. His appeal included two main points of error. The first point was that he believed there wasn't enough proof that he made a false declaration to a licensed pawnbroker. He argued that since the employee who helped him at the pawnshop was not a licensed pawnbroker, his actions should not count as a crime. However, the court explained that the law only requires the pawnshop owner to be licensed, not every employee. Therefore, the court felt there was enough evidence for the jury to decide that Flowers committed the crime. The second point raised by Flowers was about how the judge handled his sentence. The judge seemed unsure whether he could make Flowers' twenty-year sentence run at the same time as another sentence he already had. The court explained that judges do have the authority to run sentences concurrently and that not knowing this could be an abuse of discretion. Because of this, the case was sent back to the lower court for the judge to review the sentencing again. Overall, the court upheld Flowers' conviction but said the judge needs to reassess how to handle the sentences.

F 2002-1265

Post author:Staff
Post published:January 7, 2004
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-1265, Rian Wayne Ockerman appealed his conviction for First Degree Manslaughter and Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Death. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction for First Degree Manslaughter and remand with instructions to dismiss that charge, while affirming the conviction for Leaving the Scene of an Accident. One judge dissented.

F-2003-44

Post author:Staff
Post published:December 3, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2003-44, Johnny L. Perry appealed his conviction for possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction for possession of cocaine and modify the conviction for possession of a firearm to reflect a different charge and a lighter sentence. One judge dissented.

F-2002-1370

Post author:Staff
Post published:December 2, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-1370, Oscar Lee Lamb appealed his conviction for two counts of Rape by Instrumentation. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse and remand for a new trial. One judge dissented. Oscar Lee Lamb was found guilty by a jury and received a sentence of five years in prison for each count, with the sentences running consecutively. Lamb challenged the trial court's decision on two main points. First, he argued that there was a mistake when some evidence that was not allowed in the trial was taken to the jury room during their discussions. This was seen as a problem, but the court believed it did not cause any harm to Lamb's case since the content of those pieces of evidence had already been discussed during the trial. The second point brought up by Lamb was more serious. He said that a witness who was an expert gave an opinion on whether or not the victim was telling the truth. The court agreed that this was a mistake because experts should not tell the jury what to believe about who is honest or dishonest. This kind of testimony can really affect the jury's decision, particularly when both sides disagree strongly about what happened. Since the court thought the expert's testimony could have made a difference in how the jury viewed the case, they decided that Lamb should have a new trial. Therefore, the previous court's decision was overturned, and the case was sent back for another trial.

F-2002-1470

Post author:Staff
Post published:November 25, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-1470, Wafford appealed his conviction for several crimes. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm part of the convictions and reverse one of them. One judge dissented. Michael Orlando Wafford was found guilty by a jury of trafficking in illegal drugs, possession of a firearm while committing a felony, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, and concealing stolen property. The jury gave him a total of fifty-five years in prison for these crimes. There were several issues that Wafford raised in his appeal. First, he argued that there wasn’t enough evidence to support his conviction for possessing a gun while committing a felony and that the evidence for trafficking was also weak. The court, however, found that the evidence was enough to show that Wafford had control over the drugs found and that there was a connection between the gun and the drug crimes. Next, Wafford pointed out that it was unfair to charge him with two different crimes because of the same gun. The court agreed, sending back instructions to dismiss the conviction for concealing stolen property since it stemmed from the same act of having the gun. Wafford also claimed that some evidence during the trial was unfair to him and that he did not get a fair trial because of it. The court found that the objections raised did not significantly affect the outcome of the trial. Overall, the court upheld the conviction for trafficking and the possession of a firearm while committing a felony, concluding that the evidence supported those charges. However, they also ruled that Wafford's conviction for concealing stolen property was not valid and ordered it to be dismissed.

F-2002-87

Post author:Staff
Post published:November 12, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-87, Claude Thomas Gifford appealed his conviction for robbery in the first degree and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction for robbery but affirmed the conviction for assault and battery. One judge dissented. Gifford was found guilty of several crimes after a jury trial in Cleveland County. He received a lengthy sentence of 38 years for robbery and 48 years for assault, among other sentences. Gifford believed he was unfairly punished twice for the same incident, as the robbery and the assault were committed against the same victim at the same time. The court agreed that convicting him for both crimes was unfair, as they were not separate acts and violated the law against double punishment. They also found that the other claims made by Gifford did not warrant changes to his convictions or sentences. As a result of the court's review, they reversed the conviction and sentence for robbery and kept the conviction for assault, but adjusted the sentences accordingly.

F 2002-1259

Post author:Staff
Post published:November 7, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-1259, the appellant appealed his conviction for robbery in the first degree, robbery with imitation firearm, and possession of drug paraphernalia. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the convictions but modified the sentences to run concurrently rather than consecutively. One judge dissented, stating that eleven life sentences shocked the court's conscience but eight did not.

F-2002-1561

Post author:Staff
Post published:September 25, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-1561, Joe Edward Stratmoen appealed his conviction for Unlawful Possession of a Dangerous Drug and Possession of a Weapon While Committing a Felony. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the life sentence for the drug charge but modified the sentence for the weapons charge to two years. One judge dissented. Stratmoen was found guilty of having methamphetamine and a weapon during a crime. He was originally sentenced to a long prison term. However, he argued that he did not agree to a key part of his sentencing, which led to a re-sentencing trial being ordered. At this new trial, the jury decided he should have a life sentence for the drug charge and a ten-year sentence for the weapon charge. Stratmoen’s appeal brought up several points. He said the court shouldn’t have let a jury re-sentence him just for this non-death penalty case. He also argued that he never truly agreed to his earlier convictions being used against him before. Stratmoen claimed that testimony from police officers during his trial was unfair and that the way the prosecutor spoke about parole led to a wrong verdict. Lastly, he felt that a life sentence for having drugs was too harsh for his situation. After looking at everything, the court thought that Stratmoen's sentence for possessing a weapon should be reduced to two years since it couldn’t be increased further. They agreed that the trial court was right in letting a jury examine whether he had prior convictions but pointed out that they had to correct some details about his life sentence, making sure it indicated he could be eligible for parole. In conclusion, while his life sentence was upheld, it was important to ensure that the legal documents accurately reflected the possibility of parole, providing him with a fair opportunity for the future.

F 2002-1035

Post author:Staff
Post published:September 12, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-1035, Russell DeWayne Dykes appealed his conviction for Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Methamphetamine), and Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance without a Tax Stamp Affixed. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the convictions but modify some of the sentences. One judge dissented. Dykes was found guilty after a bench trial. The trial was held before a judge who decided his fate. Dykes received six years of imprisonment for each of the three counts. These sentences were supposed to run at the same time. Dykes argued several issues in his appeal. First, he said that the evidence against him wasn't handled properly, which made it less reliable, and that he did not get a fair trial because of that. Second, he claimed that the evidence presented by the State did not clearly show that he had the controlled substance, meaning he shouldn’t have been convicted for that crime. Third, Dykes believed that the judge gave him sentences that were longer than the law allowed. He asked for the sentences to be changed or at least reduced. He also thought the judge should have lowered his sentence based on what was said during an earlier part of the trial. Lastly, he argued that the combined effect of all these issues led to an unfair trial. After looking closely at all of Dykes' claims and the court documents, the judges decided that Dykes did not have a strong enough argument about the chain of evidence. They believed that even though Dykes raised questions about how the evidence was handled, there was still enough proof for a reasonable person to believe he was guilty. The court also agreed that although the sentences were initially longer than what was allowed, the errors could be fixed. They decided to lower the sentences: for the assault charge, Dykes would serve five years instead of six, and for the possession charge without a tax stamp, the court changed it to two years. In conclusion, the court affirmed that Dykes was guilty and solidified the evidence used, but they modified two of his sentences to fit what the law allowed.

F 2002-1009

Post author:Staff
Post published:September 12, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-1009, Rodney Jerome Burton appealed his conviction for trafficking in illegal drugs (cocaine base) and possession of a controlled dangerous substance within 1000 feet of a public park. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction for trafficking in illegal drugs, but it dismissed the conviction for possession of a controlled dangerous substance within 1000 feet of a public park. One judge dissented. Burton was found guilty of trafficking in cocaine and possession of drugs near a public park. The jury recommended sentences of twenty years for trafficking and ten years for possession, which were to be served at the same time. Burton raised several reasons for his appeal, claiming that the evidence was not strong enough to support the verdicts, and that there were other problems in the trial. The court examined each of his claims, finding that there was enough evidence to support the trafficking conviction. They also decided that the jury was not pushed to come to a verdict and that the trial court followed the rules correctly regarding other pieces of evidence. It was determined that the remarks and actions of the prosecutor did not unfairly affect Burton's trial. The court concluded that there was no error regarding the prior photograph and that Burton's trial lawyer did a good job. Even though Burton wanted to benefit from a change in the law that might have helped him, the court said he was not entitled to that benefit because it didn’t apply to his case. Overall, the court upheld the sentence for trafficking but overturned the possession sentence, telling lower courts to dismiss that charge.

F-2002-690

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 27, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-690, Lonny Boyd Jones appealed his conviction for multiple crimes, including assaulting a police officer and aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse one count against him, affirm the others, and reduce his sentence for aggravated trafficking. One judge dissented. Lonny Boyd Jones was tried in Grady County District Court and found guilty of several charges. He received sentences of five years for assaulting a police officer, two years for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony, one year with a fine for resisting an officer, and 35 years plus a fine for trafficking methamphetamine. After his conviction, Lonny appealed the decision, arguing many points, including issues with the arrest warrant, double jeopardy, hearsay evidence, and the effectiveness of his counsel. The court reviewed his claims. They found that the arrest warrant was valid despite not being signed properly. Therefore, Lonny's claim regarding the warrant did not hold. They also decided that his conviction for resisting a police officer was too similar to the assault charge, so that conviction was reversed. Regarding the hearsay evidence and jury instructions, the court found that they did not significantly affect the trial's outcome, and his request for instructions on lesser offenses or defenses was denied because the evidence supported his guilt for the charges he faced. Additionally, the court upheld the introduction of a letter he wrote, agreeing that it was authentic. They dismissed claims of prosecutorial misconduct as the comments made during the trial were fair and justified by the evidence. The court acknowledged that the sentencing instructions were mistaken and modified his sentence for trafficking methamphetamine, reducing it from 35 years to 30 years without a fine. In the end, the court's decision affirmed most of Lonny's convictions, changed one, and modified his sentence.

F-2002-718

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 22, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-718, Veronica Coronado appealed her conviction for Trafficking in Illegal Drugs. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction. One judge dissented. Veronica was found guilty of trafficking illegal drugs and was sentenced to ten years in prison with a fine of $25,000. After reviewing the case closely, the court found an important problem with how the police searched Veronica. The judges stated that her rights were violated because the search did not follow the rules laid out in the U.S. Constitution. According to the Constitution, people should not be subjected to unreasonable searches. The judges referred to an important case, Terry v. Ohio, which explains that police can only search someone if they have good reasons to believe that the person is dangerous. In Veronica's case, the officer who searched her did not have specific reasons to believe she was armed or dangerous. The search was done just as a normal procedure. Also, after the officer looked and determined she was not carrying a weapon, the officer had no right to take anything from her without a warrant, which is a legal document allowing police to search. Therefore, since the search was not done the right way, any evidence found during that search should not have been used against her in court. Because of these issues, the judges decided that Veronica should not have been convicted and ordered that her case be dismissed.

F-2002-537

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 21, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-537, Andre Lasuan Marshall appealed his conviction for several offenses including shooting with intent to kill. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse one of the charges and affirm the others. One judge dissented. The case began when Marshall was charged with multiple counts, including three counts of shooting with intent to kill, one count of entering a building with unlawful intent, and one count of possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony. A jury found him guilty on most counts after the trial. He received sentences that the jury recommended, which were to be served at the same time, except for one count. Marshall raised several points for appeal. He argued that the evidence wasn’t strong enough to prove he shot someone with the intent to kill. He also said that the jury should not have been instructed on a lesser charge, that his convictions for possessing a firearm and shooting someone should not count separately, and that some police testimony about gang colors was unfair to him. Marshall believed that the evidence didn’t support one of the building charges and that the jury wasn't given all the necessary instructions. He mentioned that there were problems with what the prosecutor said during the trial and that all of these issues together should lead to his convictions being reversed or his sentences being changed. After reviewing everything, the court agreed some points raised were valid. They decided that Marshall did run from the scene after the shooting and that the evidence showed he was likely the shooter. They did find, however, that it was a mistake to instruct the jury about the lesser charge without a request from the state. Therefore, they reversed that particular conviction related to the shooting but upheld the others. The court concluded that while they were reversing one conviction, the remaining charges were upheld, and Marshall would continue serving his other sentences. One judge disagreed with how the reversal was handled, believing that if a new trial was warranted, it shouldn’t just overturn the charge outright but should instead allow for reconsideration by a jury. So, that’s a summary of the case and what the court decided.

F-2002-613

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 20, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-613, Muhajir A. Sango appealed his conviction for Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance with Intent to Distribute, after Former Conviction of Two or More Drug Felonies. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction but reversed the sentence and remanded the case for resentencing. One member of the court dissented. Sango was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to thirty years in prison and a fine of $10,000. He raised several arguments on appeal. He claimed that evidence showing his gang affiliation was irrelevant and unfairly influenced the jury. He also argued that his lawyer did not properly object to this evidence, which made his legal representation ineffective. Lastly, he believed the jury was given incorrect information about his possible sentence. Upon reviewing the case, the court agreed that there was an error in the jury instructions concerning the punishment range for habitual drug offenders. The court concluded that the jury was mistakenly told that the minimum sentence was twenty years instead of the correct ten years. Despite agreeing with some of Sango's concerns, the court found that the introduction of gang-related evidence did not significantly impact the jury's decision, and the arguments about ineffective assistance did not hold up. As a result, his conviction was upheld, but the court mandated that the sentencing should be redone to correct the earlier mistake.

F 2002-809

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 15, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-809, the appellant appealed his conviction for trafficking in illegal drugs and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. In a published decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction. One judge dissented. Russell Andrew Doza was found guilty of trafficking in methamphetamine and possessing a firearm during a felony. The trial took place in Logan County, where the judge sentenced him to ten years in prison for the drug charge and two years for the firearm charge. The sentences were set to be served at the same time. The main point of the appeal was whether the police officers had the right to search his car. The appellant argued that the officers were outside their legal area when they conducted the search. The court agreed with him, referencing a previous case that stated police cannot perform searches outside their jurisdiction. Because the evidence used against him was obtained unlawfully, the court found there was not enough evidence to support his convictions. Therefore, they reversed the lower court's decision and instructed that the case be dismissed.

F 2002-1116

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 14, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-1116, Billy Ray Rodgers appealed his conviction for Manufacturing Methamphetamine. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand the case with instructions to dismiss. One judge dissented. Billy Ray Rodgers was found guilty of manufacturing methamphetamine in Oklahoma County. He was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison and a fine of fifty thousand dollars. After the trial, he appealed the decision, raising several reasons why he believed the conviction should be overturned. First, he argued that the evidence did not show he actively participated in making methamphetamine. The law states that for someone to be convicted of a crime, there must be proof that they either committed the crime themselves or helped someone else do it. In this case, the court agreed with Rodgers. They said that simply being present at the scene of the crime was not enough to prove that he was guilty of manufacturing meth. Rodgers' lawyer had argued that the trial judge did not give the jury proper instructions. He also claimed there were mistakes made by the prosecutor and that his own lawyer did not do a good job, which all contributed to an unfair trial. Lastly, he said that the evidence collected against him should not have been used because it was obtained through an illegal search. After reviewing all the evidence and arguments, the court decided that there was not enough proof to support the conviction. They found that being present at the meth lab did not equal participating in its operation. Therefore, they reversed his conviction and ordered that the case be dismissed entirely. The dissenting judge believed there was enough evidence to sustain the conviction. They argued that Rodgers was present where meth was being manufactured, and there were items connecting him to the lab. This judge felt that a reasonable juror could find him guilty based on the evidence, which included his fingerprints on lab equipment and his social security card found there. In summary, the court overruled the conviction because they believed the evidence did not sufficiently prove Rodgers was involved in the crime, while one judge disagreed and thought the evidence was enough for a conviction.

F-2002-855

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 14, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-855, Brandon Grimland appealed his conviction for First Degree Manslaughter. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction but modified the sentence from one hundred years to twenty-five years imprisonment. One judge dissented, believing the case should be sent back for re-sentencing. Grimland was found guilty of causing the death of another person through a beating that led to severe injuries. The trial jury recommended a very long sentence of one hundred years, but there were concerns about how the prosecutor talked about parole, which might have influenced the jury's decision. The court agreed that the way the prosecutor approached the topic was not right and decided to reduce the sentence to a more reasonable twenty-five years. While the conviction stood, the judges thought it was important to correct the sentence based on how the trial was conducted.

F 2002-1041

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 7, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-1041, Carlos Gomez Modesto appealed his conviction for Trafficking in Illegal Drugs (Methamphetamine and Cocaine). In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse and remand Count 1 with instructions to dismiss it, while affirming Count 2. One judge dissented. The case started when Modesto was found guilty in an earlier trial of trafficking both methamphetamine and cocaine. The jury decided his punishment for methamphetamine should be ten years and a fine of $50,000, and for cocaine, ten years and a fine of $25,000. However, during sentencing, the judge changed the punishment for methamphetamine to just four years, allowing both counts to run at the same time. Modesto raised several issues during his appeal, challenging the fairness of the trial. He claimed that: 1. The trial court didn't properly handle his request to dismiss the charges based on double jeopardy, which is when a person can't be tried twice for the same crime. 2. He argued that having two convictions seemed unfair, like getting punished twice for the same wrongdoing. 3. He believed that the evidence presented was not enough to support his convictions. 4. Modesto complained about the prosecutor's comments during closing arguments, suggesting they were harmful and unfair. 5. He pointed out that some decisions made by the trial court regarding evidence were wrong, which affected his right to a fair trial. After looking carefully at all the facts and arguments, the court agreed with Modesto on some points. They found that his two convictions did violate the rule against double punishment, so they decided to reverse the conviction for methamphetamine and instruct the lower court to dismiss that charge. However, they determined there was enough evidence to uphold the conviction for cocaine and decided to affirm that part. The court also recognized that the prosecutor's comparison of Modesto to a notorious criminal was inappropriate, but they concluded it wasn’t enough to change the trial's outcome. Lastly, although there were some mistakes in handling evidence, they decided those were not serious enough to affect the fairness of the trial. In summary, the court's final ruling was that Modesto's conviction for trafficking cocaine would stand, while the conviction for methamphetamine was reversed and dismissed.

F-2002-548

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 6, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-548, Brian Wheatley Fire appealed his conviction for seven counts of Lewd Molestation. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse his convictions and remand his case for a new trial. One judge dissented. Brian Wheatley Fire was found guilty by a jury in Oklahoma County of multiple counts of a serious crime. The jury recommended he serve twenty years in prison for each count, and the judge ordered the sentences to be served one after the other, meaning he would spend many years in prison. After getting convicted, Brian Wheatley Fire raised several issues, called propositions of error, which he believed showed he did not get a fair trial. These were a set of complaints about how the trial went and how evidence was presented. The court looked at the arguments made by Brian's side. One important issue was that a social worker and a school counselor said they believed the child involved was telling the truth, which was a problem. These statements could influence how the jury viewed the witness's honesty. The law says that it is up to the jury to decide if someone is telling the truth, and when someone who is not a trial expert vouches for a witness's truthfulness, it can lead to unfairness in the trial. Another issue was related to what happened during questioning. The prosecutor brought up that Brian, after being arrested, didn't speak to police. This should not have happened because it could make people think less of him for not speaking up right away. The law protects people from being judged negatively for choosing to stay silent after being arrested. Brian's silence was used against him repeatedly in questions by the prosecutor and was mentioned again in final remarks. The court found that these two problems together made it impossible for Brian to have a fair trial. They believed that the errors were serious enough to reverse the guilty decision and send the case back for a new trial where these mistakes wouldn't happen again. In conclusion, Brian Wheatley Fire's conviction was overturned, and his case was sent back for a new trial because the errors during his first trial compromised his right to a fair trial.

F 2002-869

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 29, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-869, Bennie Jay Edwards, Jr., appealed his conviction for Concealing Stolen Property and Breaking and Entering. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the convictions but modified the sentence for Concealing Stolen Property to ten years imprisonment. One member of the court dissented. Bennie Jay Edwards, Jr. was found guilty in a trial that took place in May 2002. The jury decided he should go to prison for 30 years for the first crime, which was concealing stolen property, and one year for the second crime, which was breaking and entering. These sentences were set to happen at the same time, meaning he would serve the longest one. After the trial, Edwards appealed, saying that there were mistakes during the trial and that he did not get a fair chance to defend himself. His lawyers said the jury was told the wrong information about how long he could be sentenced for his crime of concealing stolen property. The proper punishment should have been four years to life in prison, but the jury was told it could be no less than 20 years. After looking into the issues raised by Edwards, the court decided that he did not lose his chance for a fair trial because of the mistakes that were made about the instructions. However, they agreed that the jury was given the wrong information about the punishment for his first conviction. Because of this error, the court changed the sentence for his first conviction from 30 years to 10 years. The second conviction remained the same. The court explained that even though there were some mistakes, they did not think those mistakes were serious enough to change the conviction itself, just the sentence. In the end, the court found Edwards guilty but reduced his punishment for one of the crimes due to the trial mistakes related to jury instructions.

F 2002-772

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 29, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2002-772, Joseph Alexander Simrak appealed his conviction for Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance and Possession of a Firearm after a felony. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand the case with instructions to dismiss. One judge dissented. The case began when the appellant was arrested. He was found with methamphetamine and a firearm, which he challenged in court, arguing that the arrest was not lawful. The appellant claimed that because his arrest was unlawful, all the evidence found during the arrest should not have been used against him in court. The court agreed with the appellant and found that the information used to justify his arrest was not reliable. Therefore, the evidence from the unlawful arrest should not have been included in the trial. The jury had previously decided that the appellant should go to prison for ten years for each charge, and those sentences were to be served one after the other. However, since the court found the arrest illegal, both convictions were reversed. The remaining issues raised by the appellant were not considered because the ruling on the arrest was significant enough to change the outcome of the case. Ultimately, the court stated that the appellant would not be punished for these convictions due to the way the evidence was obtained.

F-2002-899

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 22, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-899, Edward John VanWoundenberg appealed his conviction for Driving While Under the Influence (DUI) after having two or more previous convictions. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction and sentence. One judge dissented. VanWoundenberg was found guilty of DUI in a trial where a jury sentenced him to twenty years in prison. He raised several arguments in his appeal. He argued there were mistakes in the jury instructions, his sentence should be changed, a clerical error needed to be fixed, and that the combined effect of all the mistakes denied him a fair trial. The court reviewed all the information from the trial. It decided that VanWoundenberg’s case did not need to be reversed or changed, but there was a clerical mistake in the court documents that had to be corrected. The court found that the evidence did not support giving the jury instructions about lesser charges, and so the trial court acted correctly by not providing those instructions. VanWoundenberg also argued that his felony DUI sentence should not have been increased under a general law since it had already been raised under a specific DUI law due to his previous offenses. The court explained that it was legal to enhance (or increase) his sentence using a general law because he had many previous different felony convictions within the required time. The court pointed out that one of VanWoundenberg's arguments was mistaken; the rules allowed for both the specific and general laws to apply in his case. Finally, the court amended the total costs listed in the original court documents to a lesser amount due to a fee that should not have been included. In the end, the court confirmed VanWoundenberg's conviction and corrected the clerical error, but found no other issues that needed to change the outcome of the case.

F 2000-321

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 15, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2000-321, Lourinda (Givens) Leggett appealed her conviction for First Degree Manslaughter. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse her conviction and remand the case for a new trial. One judge dissented. Lourinda (Givens) Leggett was found guilty of First Degree Manslaughter by a jury. She was given a 28-year prison sentence, with 15 years suspended. Afterward, she filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied. On appeal, she raised two main errors. First, she argued that her lawyer should have presented evidence about battered woman syndrome, which could have helped her defense. Second, she claimed that the jury received confusing instructions regarding different defenses, which affected the trial's fairness. The court looked carefully at the case, including records and arguments from both sides. They agreed with Lourinda that her lawyer’s decision not to call an expert on battered woman syndrome was not a good choice and had negatively affected her defense. They believed that this choice made it hard to trust the jury's decision. Therefore, they reversed the trial court's decision and ordered a new trial. Since the court found merit in the first point raised by Lourinda, they didn't need to address the second error she mentioned. The court’s decision meant that Lourinda would get another chance in court to present her case.

F-2002-808

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 11, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-808, Milton Veran Williams appealed his conviction for distribution and possession of crack cocaine. In an unpublished decision, the court decided that his convictions for possession with intent to distribute and maintaining a place for selling drugs were reversed and dismissed, but his conviction for distribution was affirmed with a reduced fine. One judge dissented, believing the entry into Williams' home was justified under exigent circumstances.

F-2002-233

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 1, 2003
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2002-233, Stephen Eldridge Melonakis appealed his conviction for falsely personating another. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction but modify the sentence to reflect credit for time served awaiting trial. One judge dissented, arguing that the trial court's decision should have been upheld without modification.