Alibi Defense Archives - OCCA Opinions

F-2011-962

Post author:Staff
Post published:February 27, 2014
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2011-962, Jonas Alan Thornton appealed his conviction for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse Thornton's conviction and remand the case for a new trial due to concerns over the impartiality of the trial judge. One judge dissented. Thornton was convicted after a non-jury trial where the judge was someone he had previously consulted while looking for legal advice regarding the case against him. The incident occurred in January 2010 when Thornton allegedly fired a handgun into a house. After being arrested, he spoke with the judge, who was not in his judge role at that time. Later, the judge was elected and presided over Thornton’s trial. During the appeal, Thornton claimed that the judge should have recused himself because of their prior interaction, which could influence how the judge viewed the case. The court found that the judge failed to follow rules requiring him to step aside, which led to a decision that Thornton did not receive a fair trial. The court stated that even though Thornton did not directly ask for the judge to disqualify himself at the time, this did not eliminate the obligation for the judge to recognize a conflict of interest. The relationship between Thornton and the judge meant that the fairness of the trial could be doubted. As a result, the court ruled that Thornton's conviction needed to be reversed, and he would get a new trial. This decision effectively set aside the earlier trial's results and meant that any further claims Thornton made concerning his representation or other trial aspects were not addressed since the focus was on the impartiality of the judge.

F-2011-509

Post author:Staff
Post published:September 10, 2013
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2011-509, Mark Anthony Clayborne appealed his conviction for Perjury by Subornation and Allowing the Production of a False Exhibit. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction for Perjury by Subornation but reversed the conviction for Allowing the Production of a False Exhibit. One judge dissented. Clayborne, a lawyer, represented a defendant accused of selling drugs. During the trial, he presented a video as evidence showing his client was in Mexico at the time of the alleged crime. However, a forensic video analyst testified that the date stamp on the video was altered. As a result, Clayborne was charged with subornation of perjury for allowing false evidence and for producing a false exhibit. Throughout his appeal, Clayborne raised several issues. He argued that the trial court made errors by improperly answering jury questions, violating his rights due to prosecutorial misconduct, and mishandling evidence. He also contended that certain jury instructions were incorrect, particularly a lack of clear mention of required knowledge of the false exhibit. The court ruled that while there was an error regarding jury instructions, it was not enough to require a reversal of the conviction for subornation of perjury because the outcome was still supported by strong evidence. However, they found that the trial court erred in how they handled the issues related to the false exhibit, leading to that conviction being overturned. The decision covered various claims of error including jury questions, prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments, and evidence issues. Ultimately, the court decided to keep one conviction while reversing the other due to significant procedural concerns.

F-2006-1339

Post author:Staff
Post published:March 27, 2008
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2006-1339, Robert Larue Jones appealed his conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon after being previously convicted of two or more felonies. In an unpublished decision, the court decided that Jones's conviction should be reversed and that a retrial should take place with proper instructions. One judge dissented from this decision. Jones was found guilty by a jury and was sentenced to fifty years in prison. He raised several issues on appeal, including whether the evidence was enough to support his conviction, if the jury was properly instructed on his alibi defense, and if his sentence was too harsh. The court determined that the trial court made an error by refusing to allow Jones to offer an alibi defense. It was concluded that he should have been given an instruction regarding this defense because he presented enough evidence to support it. The court noted that the law states a defense should be given when there is sufficient evidence for the jury to consider. Due to the lack of an alibi instruction during the trial, the court found that this mistake was significant enough to require a new trial, where Jones could properly present his defense. The court reversed the previous judgment and ordered a new trial with the right legal instructions provided to the jury. The dissenting opinion argued that the trial court was correct in its decision and that any error in not giving the alibi instruction was not harmful to the overall case.