Okla. Stat. tit. 22 § 2001 Archives

RE-2018-249

Post author:Staff
Post published:May 16, 2019
Post category:RE

**IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA** **CAMERON CLEO GIVENS,** **Appellant,** **v.** **THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA,** **Appellee.** **No. RE-2018-249** **FILED IN COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS** **STATE OF OKLAHOMA** **MAY 16, 2019** **SUMMARY OPINION** **JOHN D. HADDEN, CLERK** **LUMPKIN, JUDGE:** Appellant Cameron Cleo Givens appeals from the revocation of his suspended sentence in Oklahoma County District Court Case No. CF-2003-2422, overseen by Judge Glenn M. Jones. On February 2, 2005, Appellant entered a plea of guilty to multiple counts, including four counts of Rape in the Second Degree and three counts of Forcible Oral Sodomy. He was sentenced to prison terms, with most of the sentences suspended, leading to an effective agreement of concurrent sentences. On May 2, 2017, the State filed an Amended Application to Revoke Suspended Sentence, alleging several violations, including failure to report to his probation officer, non-compliance with the Sex Offender Registration Act, and new crimes committed in two other cases. After the revocation hearing, Judge Jones revoked Appellant's suspended sentence in full. **Proposition I:** Appellant contends he was denied adequate opportunity to request discovery regarding Officer O'Connor's testimony. However, he was given notice about Officer O'Connor's potential testimony and did not establish a right to further discovery. The proposition is deemed meritless. **Proposition II:** Appellant asserts that it was improper to admit and rely on the preliminary hearing transcript from Case No. CF-2016-9187 for the revocation. The standards of due process allow for such admission without requiring proof of a witness's unavailability when the defendant had the chance to confront the witness in prior hearings. His objections are similarly without merit, as the case law indicates that competent evidence supported the revocation independent of the contested transcript. **Conclusion:** A suspended sentence is a grace extended by the court. The State need only prove one violation to justify a full revocation of a suspended sentence. In this case, the trial court's decision was within its discretion and supported by competent evidence. **Decision:** The revocation of Appellant's suspended sentences in Oklahoma County District Court Case No. CF-2003-2422 is **AFFIRMED**. ADDITIONAL NOTES: The opinion was filed by Judge Lumpkin, with concurrence from Presiding Judge Lewis, Vice-Presiding Judge Kuehn, and Judges Hudson and Rowland. **Mandate ordered upon filing.** **Counsel for Appellant:** Katie Samples and Johanna F. Roberts, Assistant Public Defenders, Oklahoma City, OK. **Counsel for Appellee:** Jessica Foster, Assistant District Attorney, and Mike Hunter, Attorney General of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK. **For complete judicial proceedings, refer to the downloadable PDF.** [Click Here To Download PDF](https://opinions.wirthlawoffice.com/wp-content/uploads/RE-2018-249_1734697863.pdf) --- *This document summarizes the judicial opinion concerning the revocation of Cameron Cleo Givens' suspended sentences following probation violations and provides insights on the legal rationale behind the court's decision.*

F-2011-480

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 9, 2012
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2011-480, Huyen Ai Thi Tran appealed his conviction for perjury. In a published decision, the court decided to remand the case for correcting the fine but otherwise affirmed the conviction. One judge dissented. Ms. Tran was found guilty of perjury by a jury and was sentenced to ten years in prison, with three years to be served. Ms. Tran raised several issues in her appeal. She claimed that evidence from other crimes unfairly influenced the jury, which made her trial unfair. She argued that the trial court mentioned she was in custody for an unrelated matter and that her co-defendant talked about other crimes during the trial. However, the court found these issues did not have significant impact. She also argued that the prosecutor asked questions that brought up evidence about other crimes without proper warning, but the court decided these errors didn’t affect the outcome. Ms. Tran argued that her right to remain silent was violated when the jury heard that she had refused to answer questions in a previous case. The court noted that the trial judge intervened and instructed the jury to ignore that testimony. Another point Ms. Tran made was about her lawyer's failure to challenge a juror who was a police officer. Ms. Tran’s lawyer did not pursue this challenge, but the court found that it was not a serious issue since the juror was not working in law enforcement at the time of the trial. Ms. Tran then pointed out that the fine noted in the final judgment was different from what the court initially stated during sentencing. The court agreed to correct this mistake. Lastly, Ms. Tran suggested that all these issues combined created a harmful effect on her case. However, the court concluded that any significant errors were not enough to change the trial’s outcome due to strong evidence against her. The final decision required the correction of the fine in the records, but the conviction for perjury was largely upheld.

S-2011-543

Post author:Staff
Post published:April 6, 2012
Post category:S

In OCCA case No. S-2011-543, the State of Oklahoma appealed its conviction for suppressing evidence against DAREN LEVI GEYER. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the lower court's order. The judges noted that the trial court was correct in determining that the State had violated rules regarding evidence disclosure and imposed sanctions on the State for not following these rules. The court found that the State's failures warranted these sanctions, and the imposition of a jury instruction against the State was also upheld. One judge dissented, emphasizing the importance of fair play in the discovery process during trials.

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-2000-948

Post author:Staff
Post published:January 14, 2000
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. PR-99-1326, the Petitioners appealed their conviction for murder and shooting with intent to kill. In an unpublished decision, the court decided that the mistrial declared by the judge was not justified and therefore double jeopardy bars the State from retrying the Petitioners. One judge dissented. The case began when the Petitioners were charged with serious offenses. The first trial ended in a mistrial, which the judge declared after issues arose during a witness's cross-examination. The attorneys raised concerns about whether the prosecution had failed to provide evidence that could help the defense. This evidence related to the witness's background and credibility. The judge felt that the defense attorney’s questions may have harmed the trial, which led him to call for a mistrial. However, after reviewing the trial's events, the court found that there was no manifest necessity for a mistrial. In other words, the situation did not require such an extreme remedy. The court felt that a warning could have been sufficient to address any perceived problems before resorting to declaring a mistrial. Ultimately, the review concluded that the judge made errors in declaring the mistrial and, as a result, the defendants could not be tried again for these charges. The opinion emphasized that once a jury is discharged without sufficient reason, it can lead to violating the defendants' rights under the double jeopardy clause, which prevents someone from being tried for the same crime twice.