Criminal Evidence

F-2018-588

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The case involves Sonia Weidenfelder, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the District Court of Tulsa County and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, she contested the trial court's denial of her motion to suppress evidence obtained from two cell phones, claiming that the warrants authorizing the searches lacked probable cause, thereby violating her Fourth Amendment rights. The Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma reviewed the trial court’s ruling for abuse of discretion, which entails a clearly erroneous judgment. They affirmed the trial court's decision, finding sufficient probable cause in the affidavits supporting the search warrants for the cell phones. They noted that the magistrate had a substantial basis for determining that evidence related to the murder would likely be found on the phones, allowing for the admissibility of the evidence at trial. The judgment of the trial court was therefore affirmed, and the Court concluded that there was no error in the admission of the cell phone evidence. The decision also includes information on the legal representation for both the appellant and the state, as well as a note that the mandate would be issued upon the decision’s delivery and filing.

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F-2009-1142

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In OCCA case No. F-2009-1142, the Appellant appealed his conviction for seven counts, including five counts of Knowingly Concealing/Receiving Stolen Property, First-Degree Arson, and Second-Degree Burglary. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse all of the Appellant's convictions due to several errors during the trial. The court identified that the Appellant was denied access to his preliminary hearing transcripts, which affected his ability for a fair trial. The court also noted there was improper joinder of cases, leading to the admission of prejudicial evidence that may have influenced the jury's verdict. One judge dissented regarding the conclusion that the errors warranted a complete reversal of the convictions, arguing that the first error was harmless and could be remedied with a sentence modification.

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F-2006-114

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In OCCA case No. F-2006-114, Tuydale Eugene LeFlore appealed his conviction for Second Degree Murder, Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Damage, and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the judgment for Leaving the Scene and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, but modified his sentence for Second Degree Murder from sixty years to thirty years. One judge dissented regarding the modification of the sentence for the murder charge, arguing that there was no evidence that the jury considered parole during their decision.

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F-2001-793

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In OCCA case No. F-2001-793, Robert Dale Marlow appealed his conviction for three counts of First Degree Rape, Forcible Sodomy, and First Degree Rape by Instrumentation. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to modify one of the convictions to Second Degree Rape by Instrumentation and also modified the sentences for the remaining convictions. One judge dissented. Marlow was found guilty of serious crimes related to sexual offenses. The jury decided to give him a very long punishment of 100 years for each of the five crimes, which they all ran one after the other, making a total of 500 years. In the appeal, Marlow pointed out several issues with his trial. First, he argued that he didn’t get a fair trial because the judge allowed the jury to hear about another crime that wasn’t related to what he was accused of. This might have made the jury think he was a bad person and influenced their decision. Second, he said the jury was not properly instructed about one of the charges. The charge of First Degree Rape by Instrumentation did not include an important detail about “bodily harm.” Because of this, the court acknowledged that he should have been found guilty of a lesser crime instead. They also talked about how the prosecutor brought in information about other incidents that happened at a different time, which they believed could confuse the jury and affect the fairness of the trial. After looking carefully at everything, the court decided that the conviction for First Degree Rape by Instrumentation should be changed to Second Degree Rape by Instrumentation, and they gave him a new sentence of 20 years for this crime. The other convictions were kept but the sentences were reduced to 40 years each for the remaining counts. All of the sentences will still be served one after the other. This review shows how important it is for trials to be fair, with accurate charges and instructions provided to the jury.

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