Possession of Obscene Material Archives

F 2005-569

Post author:Staff
Post published:October 19, 2006
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F 2005-569, Anthony Logan Merrick appealed his conviction for multiple counts of sexual crimes involving minors. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm most of Merrick's convictions but reversed and dismissed certain specific counts. One judge disagreed with part of the decision. Merrick was tried and found guilty of 21 counts of sexual abuse of a child, 2 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, 15 counts of possession of obscene material involving minors, 4 counts of first-degree rape by instrumentation, and 8 counts of indecent or lewd acts with a minor child under sixteen. He received two life sentences and additional time for the other charges, which would run together, but separately from some other counts. Merrick raised several issues in his appeal. He argued that the search warrant used to gather evidence was not valid because it did not show enough probable cause, and therefore, the evidence collected should not have been allowed in court. The court disagreed and explained that the affidavit (the document that supported the search) did provide a reasonable basis for the warrant. They determined that there was enough evidence to suggest a crime had taken place and that the search was lawful. He also claimed the warrant was not detailed enough in specifying what items could be seized. The court found that the warrant was correctly written to allow officers to identify the items they needed to seize. Merrick's next point was about double punishment. He argued he should not be punished for both the act of lewd molestation and the possession of related images, saying it was unfair. However, the court concluded that these were separate crimes, and thus he could be punished for both. Merrick also believed he should only be charged once for a large number of images found, but the court stated that there were indeed separate counts for each type of evidence that were introduced. Lastly, Merrick claimed that his lawyer did not help him enough during the trial, which hurt his case. The court said there wasn't enough evidence to show that he was harmed by his lawyer's performance. As a result, the court upheld the majority of the convictions while reversing some counts related to possession of images, ordering them to be dismissed.

C-2005-1208

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 11, 2006
Post category:C

In OCCA case No. C-2005-1208, Eric Evan Smith appealed his conviction for 30 counts of Possession of Obscene Material Involving the Participation of a Minor Under the Age of Eighteen. In a published decision, the court decided to grant his request to withdraw his plea and ordered a new hearing on the application to withdraw the plea. One judge dissented. Smith had pleaded guilty in a district court, where he was sentenced to twenty years in prison for each count, with the sentences to be served at the same time, but only serving the first fifteen years of each count. After some time, Smith wanted to change his plea and said it wasn't voluntary because he felt pressured by his attorney. His case was reviewed, and it was determined that there was a conflict between him and his lawyer. Smith argued that his lawyer made him plead guilty by suggesting he would get a lighter sentence if he did so. In the hearing, Smith asserted that his attorney had coerced him into the plea, while his attorney denied it. Because of the angry and conflicting testimonies, the judges believed there was a problem that affected Smith's rights to a fair trial and effective help from a lawyer. The court found that Smith's lawyer could not properly help him because of this conflict. This led them to decide that Smith deserved another chance to explain his case and why he wanted a different plea. The decision meant that Smith had the right to go back to court, where he could present his reasons for wanting to change his plea and have a new decision made on whether his original plea was fair and appropriate. The dissenting judge felt that the court should not have granted this new hearing, believing that Smith's plea was done properly and his lawyer's conflict did not significantly affect the case, arguing that there was no abuse of power in the original decision of the court.

F-2003-802

Post author:Staff
Post published:December 3, 2004
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2003-802, the appellant appealed his conviction for multiple serious crimes against minors. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm most of the convictions but reversed one. One member of the court dissented regarding the sentences. The appellant was found guilty of many crimes, including possession of obscene material involving minors and various forms of sexual assault and exploitation. The jury decided on significant punishments, including life imprisonment for some counts and substantial fines. The sentences were ordered to run one after the other, meaning the appellant would serve a long time in prison without the chance to have some time overlap. The appellant raised several issues during the appeal. He argued that his trial was unfair for various reasons, such as hearsay evidence being allowed and prejudicial comments from the prosecutor. He also claimed that he was charged with crimes that were not consistent with the law at the time of the offenses, notably regarding the sexual exploitation charge. The court evaluated each point raised by the appellant. They found that while there were errors in how the trial was handled, not all of them affected the final outcome significantly. Some errors were considered harmless or did not warrant a change in the verdict. The court agreed that some charges were problematic, particularly that of sexual exploitation, which the court decided to reverse and dismiss. The court concluded that the appellant's conviction for the possession charge should reflect a different statute and that some sentences exceeded legal limits. The court modified these sentences appropriately and affirmed most of the other convictions. One judge did not agree with the decision to have all sentences run consecutively and believed they should run together instead, which would allow for a potentially shorter total time in prison. This disagreement highlights the differing opinions within the court regarding the severity and application of sentences. In summary, the case involved serious crimes with significant legal discussion around the fairness of the trial and the appropriateness of the resulting sentences.