S-2004-1009

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In OCCA case No. S-2004-1009, the State of Oklahoma appealed the conviction of Donald Isaiah Phares for negligent homicide. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the dismissal of the prosecution. One judge dissented. To summarize, this case started from a car accident on September 15, 2003, where Phares was involved in a collision that resulted in another driver's death. Phares was first charged with a traffic offense for failing to stop at a stop sign and paid a fine for that. Later, in January 2004, the State filed a charge of negligent homicide against him, claiming his action of not stopping at the stop sign was reckless. Phares argued that being prosecuted for negligent homicide after already being punished for the traffic violation was unfair and violated his rights to not be punished twice for the same act. The court agreed with him, stating that both charges came from the same action, and therefore, he could not be punished for both. They found that the traffic offense was part of the negligent homicide claim and ruling that prosecuting Phares again for negligent homicide would lead to double punishment. The court decided the district court's dismissal was correct as the two charges stemmed from the same event, adhering to the law that prevents someone from facing multiple punishments for the same act. Thus, the court upheld the dismissal of the negligent homicide case against Phares.

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S-2003-445

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In OCCA case No. S-2003-445, the State appealed the decision regarding Joey Dean Taylor's conviction for possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and unlawful possession of paraphernalia. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the lower court's ruling. One judge dissented. The case began when Joey Dean Taylor was a passenger in a pickup truck that was stopped by a deputy for speeding. During the stop, the deputy asked both the driver and Taylor if he could search them. The driver consented, but Taylor said yes to a pat-down search. After the search, the deputy found knives and a syringe in Taylor's pocket. Taylor was later arrested when methamphetamine was discovered in his hand at the jail. The lower court found that Taylor did not truly consent to the search, and the higher court agreed that the State did not provide enough evidence to show the consent was voluntary. They ruled that the earlier decisions were correct, and thus, they affirmed the lower court's ruling.

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