Fair Trial Archives - Page 15 of 15

MA-2001-117

Post author:Staff
Post published:July 3, 2001
Post category:MA

In OCCA case No. MA-2001-117, the Petitioner appealed his conviction for two counts of Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon. In a published decision, the court decided to grant the petition for an extraordinary writ, which means the court decided to stop the prosecution from seeking the death penalty in the retrial. The dissenting opinion noted concerns regarding the outcome of the case based on previous legal interpretations and precedents. The case began with the Petitioner charged in two separate cases, related to tragic events that resulted in the loss of life and armed robbery. Initially, the jury found him guilty of all charges and recommended life sentences without parole for the murders and life imprisonment for the robbery offenses. However, this verdict was reversed, and the case was sent back for separate trials, which created a new legal situation. The Petitioner argued that he should not face the death penalty again because the first jury had already decided on a life sentence, indicating that they did not believe the death penalty should apply. This idea connects to the legal protection known as the Double Jeopardy Clause, which prevents someone from being tried multiple times for the same offense. The court looked closely at the issue of double jeopardy, discussing how it applies not just to being tried for the same crime, but also regarding the severity of punishment. They acknowledged that once a jury has had a chance to decide on a punishment like the death penalty, the state should not get a second opportunity to change that if the first jury chose not to impose it. As a result, the court found that the Petitioner should not have to go through the additional stress and public scrutiny of another capital sentencing trial when they had already made a clear decision against it previously. Thus, the petition to prohibit the state from seeking the death penalty was granted.

F-2000-671

Post author:Staff
Post published:June 7, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2000-671, Robert F. Barnes appealed his conviction for Maiming and Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction for Maiming but reversed the conviction for Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, instructing the lower court to dismiss that charge. One justice dissented. The case began when Barnes was accused of injuring someone during a single event. The jury found him guilty of Maiming but decided on a lesser charge for the second count. Barnes received a punishment, which included jail time and fines, along with an order for restitution to the victim. When Barnes appealed, he raised several arguments. He claimed that he should not have been punished for both charges since they came from the same event. The court agreed, stating that it was against the law to punish someone multiple times for one crime, so they reversed the second charge. Barnes also argued that the jury should have been given instructions on lesser charges during the trial, but the court found that the evidence did not support this. Thus, the judge's decision was not seen as a mistake. Additionally, Barnes said that there was misconduct during the trial, but the court did not find this to be serious enough to change the original decision. Lastly, the court noted that there was not enough information in the records about the restitution order, so they couldn't decide if it should be adjusted. In summary, the court confirmed the guilt of Barnes for Maiming (Count I) but decided that he should not be punished for the second charge (Count II), which was reversed.

F 2000-446

Post author:Staff
Post published:May 4, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2000-446, Christopher Edward VanAnden appealed his conviction for First Degree Rape by Instrumentation and Lewd Molestation. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial. One judge dissented. Christopher VanAnden was found guilty by a jury of serious charges, including First Degree Rape by Instrumentation and Lewd Molestation. After the trial, he was sentenced to five years for the first charge and three years for the second, with both sentences to be served at the same time. After his conviction, VanAnden argued several points in his appeal. He believed he was unfairly denied the chance to present important witness testimony, that his rights were violated by obtaining an involuntary written statement, that there was not enough evidence to convict him, and that admitting evidence of his other crimes influenced the jury unfairly. The court looked closely at these issues and agreed with VanAnden, deciding that the evidence of other crimes he allegedly committed was particularly problematic. The court pointed out that this evidence was not shown to be connected to the current case in a clear and convincing way, meaning it should not have been allowed at trial. Ultimately, since the court felt that the admission of this other crime evidence was very unfair to VanAnden and could have changed the jury's decision on his guilt, they ordered a new trial. This means that he will have another chance to defend himself against the charges in a new court session, where the jury will hear the case from the beginning without the prejudicial evidence that affected the first trial.

F-2000-367

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 19, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2000-367, Kenneth Matthew Crase appealed his conviction for Manufacturing a Controlled Dangerous Substance - Methamphetamine. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction with instructions to dismiss the case. One member of the court dissented. Crase was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to twenty years in prison and fined $50,000. He argued several points about why he should not be convicted. He claimed there was not enough evidence to prove he helped make methamphetamine. He also said there wasn't enough support for the testimony from an accomplice, that evidence of other crimes was unfair during his trial, and that the prosecutors behaved badly, making it hard for him to get a fair trial. After looking closely at all the evidence and records from the trial, the court agreed with Crase. They found that just being present and knowing that someone was making methamphetamine did not mean he was guilty of making it or helping to make it. The court concluded that there was not enough proof to convict him, so they reversed the lower court's decision and ordered the case to be dismissed.

F-2000-365

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 19, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2000-365, Kevin Michael Crase appealed his conviction for Manufacturing a Controlled Dangerous Substance, specifically methamphetamine. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction. One judge dissented. Crase was found guilty after a trial by jury and received a sentence of twenty years in prison and a $50,000 fine. He argued several points for his appeal, including that there wasn't enough evidence to prove he was actually involved in making the drugs or helping someone else do it. Upon reviewing everything, the court agreed with Crase, stating that although he was there and knew what was happening, there was no proof that he helped or encouraged the drug production in any way. Simply being present at the scene isn’t enough to prove someone committed a crime. Therefore, the court reversed his conviction and instructed the lower court to dismiss the case.

F-1999-1615

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 18, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-99-1615, Jackie Lavern Nuckols appealed his conviction for Manufacturing or Attempting to Manufacture Methamphetamine. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse his conviction and send the case back for a new trial. One member of the court dissented. Nuckols was found guilty by a jury, and he was sentenced to twenty years in prison along with a $100,000 fine. He appealed his conviction, raising several issues. First, he argued that old convictions were unfairly used against him, which should not have been allowed. The court agreed that this was not right since the old convictions could have influenced the jury too much. However, they also said that this alone didn’t change the outcome of the trial. Second, there was a problem with evidence about another crime that was brought up during the trial. The court found that this evidence was not appropriate but decided that it didn't have a big impact on the jury’s decision. Third, Nuckols thought that his fine was too high and should be changed, but the court did not agree with this point. Fourth, he claimed that he didn't have enough help from his lawyer when he needed it. The court said that even though his lawyer might not have done everything perfectly, it didn’t hurt Nuckols' chance for a fair trial. His lawyer had a chance to represent him in other important parts of the trial. Lastly, Nuckols felt that when all of these issues were looked at together, they took away his right to a fair trial. The court acknowledged that some mistakes were made, especially about the old convictions and the mention of another crime, and they concluded that these combined errors were serious enough to justify a new trial. All in all, the court decided to reverse Nuckols’ conviction and said he should have a new trial to properly address these issues.

F 2000-152

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 17, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2000-152, the appellant, Sidney Leon Crittenden, appealed his conviction for two counts of Lewd Molestation. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction for the first count but reversed and remanded the second count with instructions to dismiss. One judge dissented. Crittenden was charged with serious offenses, including First Degree Rape by Instrumentation and Lewd Molestation. He was found guilty on two counts of Lewd Molestation and sentenced to 45 years in prison for each count, along with a fine. On appeal, Crittenden raised several arguments. He claimed that the trial court made mistakes, such as changing the charges and allowing evidence of other crimes, which he felt unfairly influenced the jury. He also argued that being convicted of two offenses from the same incident was against the rules, and he felt the sentences he received were too harsh. After looking carefully at all the details of the case, the court agreed with Crittenden on one issue—being charged for two separate offenses from one event was not acceptable. They affirmed the first conviction but ordered that the second one be dismissed as there was not enough evidence to support it as a separate act. The court noted that while some evidence suggested there might have been different incidents, it was not strong enough to meet the required level of proof. They concluded that the trial was mostly fair, and the sentences for the first count seemed appropriate. Overall, the decision respected that some of the rules regarding the number of convictions related to a single act were not followed and adjusted the outcome accordingly.

F-1999-1084

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 12, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-1999-1084, Jesse Stanard appealed his conviction for Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill and two counts of Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse his conviction for the first count and remand it for a new trial, but affirmed the convictions for the other two counts. One judge dissented.

F-1999-1654

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 4, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-99-1654, Damean Ortego Tillis appealed his conviction for Unlawful Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute and Feloniously Carrying a Firearm. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to modify the first conviction to Unlawful Possession of Marijuana and reduce the sentence to one year of imprisonment, which would be served consecutively with the sentence for the firearm charge. One judge dissented. Tillis was tried by jury in Caddo County and found guilty of both charges. The jury recommended a ten-year sentence for the marijuana charge and a twenty-year sentence for the firearm charge. The judge agreed to these sentences and ordered them to be served back-to-back. Tillis raised several points in his appeal. He argued that the trial court made mistakes, including admitting evidence of his previous conviction and not allowing a separate trial for the firearm charge. He claimed this hurt his chances for a fair trial. He also believed there wasn't enough evidence to prove he intended to distribute marijuana and that his sentence was too harsh. After reviewing everything, the court agreed that the trial court made a mistake by admitting evidence of Tillis's past conviction during the first part of the trial. This was against the rules because the laws say only certain previous convictions should be shared at certain stages of the trial. However, the court decided that, even with this mistake, the evidence against Tillis for possessing marijuana was strong enough to still uphold his conviction, but it should be changed to a less serious charge. For the second point, the court found no error in not telling the jury about a lack of knowledge defense regarding the firearm. They said there was no evidence to support that claim. On the third point, they agreed there wasn't enough evidence to show he wanted to distribute marijuana, so they modified that conviction to simple possession, which is less serious. Lastly, they said the sentences were not extreme, so the decision on the firearm charge stayed unchanged. In summary, Tillis's conviction for marijuana possession was lessened, and his sentence was adjusted, but the firearm conviction was maintained as originally sentenced.

F 2000-213

Post author:Staff
Post published:February 9, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2000-213, the Appellant appealed his conviction for Carrying a Controlled Dangerous Substance into Jail. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand the case with instructions to dismiss. One member of the court dissented. The case involved Heather Davenport, who was accused of bringing illegal substances into a jail. During her trial, the jury found her guilty and suggested a fine and imprisonment. Davenport argued that the jury's decision was unfair because evidence about her husband’s unrelated past crimes was brought into the trial. This evidence was shown to suggest that she knew what she was doing was wrong, which she believed was not relevant to her case. The court agreed with her and noted that the evidence against her did not clearly show that she knew she was breaking the law when she brought the items to the jail. The use of information about her husband’s actions was too unfair and prejudiced her chance for a fair trial. Therefore, the court decided that the conviction should not stand, stating that the evidence presented could have caused a significant mistake in the trial's outcome. The final opinion indicated that the trial court's decision was reversed, and the case was sent back with instructions to dismiss the charges against Davenport.

F-1999-1465

Post author:Staff
Post published:February 8, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-99-1465, Sean Michael Johnson appealed his conviction for First Degree Rape, Forcible Oral Sodomy, and Lewd Acts with a Child Under Sixteen. In a published decision, the court decided to modify Johnson's conviction for First Degree Rape to Second Degree Rape and reduce his sentence to five years. The judgments and sentences for the other counts were affirmed. One judge dissented, expressing concerns about the handling of juvenile procedures in this case.

F-1999-1260

Post author:Staff
Post published:January 3, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-99-1260, Carl Ray Holmes appealed his conviction for unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and unlawful possession of marijuana. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the convictions for the first two counts but reversed the marijuana possession conviction, ordering a new trial for that count. One judge dissented regarding the second count, suggesting it should be dismissed due to double jeopardy concerns.

F 2000-515

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 17, 2000
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2000-515, Larry Alan Schroeder appealed his conviction for multiple serious crimes including burglary and sexual offenses. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm most of his convictions and sentences but reversed some related to specific counts due to insufficient evidence and legal issues. One judge dissented regarding the reversal of certain burglary counts, believing there was enough evidence to support those convictions. Ultimately, some charges were upheld while others were dismissed, shaping the outcome of the appeal.