F-2018-326
In OCCA case No. F-2018-326, #1 appealed his conviction for #stalking. In a (published) decision, the court decided #the State proved that the protective order was valid during the time of the incidents. #2 dissented.
F-2009-15
In OCCA case No. F-2009-15, Alfred Burke, Jr. appealed his conviction for Kidnapping and Forcible Oral Sodomy. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm his conviction but modified his sentence. One judge dissented. Burke was found guilty in Oklahoma County and received a very long sentence of 273 years for each crime, to be served one after the other. This was due to previous convictions he had. Burke disagreed with his punishment and claimed there were several mistakes made during his trial. He argued that a law he was judged under was unfair and went against his rights. He also said that evidence from a previous case should not have been shown in court. He thought his sentence was too harsh and believed that evidence from other crimes made the trial unfair. Finally, he believed that all the errors combined made it impossible for him to have a fair trial. The court looked closely at all of Burke's arguments. They found that the law he challenged was not unconstitutional. Most of the evidence against him was strong, especially the testimony from the person he victimized and DNA proof of his actions. However, the court agreed that showing evidence of his past crime likely impacted the jury's choice on punishment more than it should have. As a result, they changed his punishment to life imprisonment for both crimes, but now those sentences would be served at the same time instead of one after the other. The judges concluded that while there were some mistakes, they did not think these mistakes were enough to change his convictions. One judge did not agree with changing the sentences at all, believing the previous evidence was important for the case.
F-2002-1470
In OCCA case No. F-2002-1470, Wafford appealed his conviction for several crimes. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm part of the convictions and reverse one of them. One judge dissented. Michael Orlando Wafford was found guilty by a jury of trafficking in illegal drugs, possession of a firearm while committing a felony, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, and concealing stolen property. The jury gave him a total of fifty-five years in prison for these crimes. There were several issues that Wafford raised in his appeal. First, he argued that there wasn’t enough evidence to support his conviction for possessing a gun while committing a felony and that the evidence for trafficking was also weak. The court, however, found that the evidence was enough to show that Wafford had control over the drugs found and that there was a connection between the gun and the drug crimes. Next, Wafford pointed out that it was unfair to charge him with two different crimes because of the same gun. The court agreed, sending back instructions to dismiss the conviction for concealing stolen property since it stemmed from the same act of having the gun. Wafford also claimed that some evidence during the trial was unfair to him and that he did not get a fair trial because of it. The court found that the objections raised did not significantly affect the outcome of the trial. Overall, the court upheld the conviction for trafficking and the possession of a firearm while committing a felony, concluding that the evidence supported those charges. However, they also ruled that Wafford's conviction for concealing stolen property was not valid and ordered it to be dismissed.
F-2000-998
In OCCA case No. F-2000-998, Gene Doyle Smothermon appealed his conviction for Possession of Methamphetamine With Intent To Distribute. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction while modifying the sentence to 30 years imprisonment. One judge dissented. Gene Doyle Smothermon was found guilty of having methamphetamine and was sentenced to serve a long time in prison. The jury first suggested he should go to prison for 75 years, but the judge decided he would serve 30 years instead. Smothermon appealed because he believed there were many mistakes made during his trial. Smothermon raised several issues during his appeal: 1. He argued that some evidence used in the trial was unfair and weak. 2. He said the trial court should have allowed his investigator to testify, claiming this took away his right to present his defense. 3. He felt the evidence against him was not strong enough to prove he was guilty. 4. He claimed the prosecutor made improper statements during the trial. 5. He thought his punishment was too harsh. 6. He believed that many errors added up to cause unfairness in his case. 7. Lastly, he asked the court to fix mistakes in the records about his guilty pleas for less serious charges. The court carefully looked over all the information from the trial, including evidence and arguments. They found that the trial did not make serious mistakes. They agreed that the evidence, including a dog alerting to drugs found in Smothermon's car, was relevant and did connect him to the case. They also ruled that not allowing the defense investigator to testify was reasonable since the investigator was disclosed too late in the trial process. They noted that while the prosecutor made some mistakes in his closing arguments, they were not serious enough to make the trial unfair. The most important point was that the judge was right to lower the original sentence from 75 years to 30 years, which they believed was more appropriate for the crime. In the end, the court confirmed Smothermon's conviction and changed his sentence to 30 years. They also decided that the trial court should correct the records to show the true details of his guilty plea for lesser charges. One judge did not agree with this decision.