In OCCA case No. F 2002-101, Danny Joe Boomershine appealed his conviction for Forcible Sodomy and Rape by Instrumentation. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm his convictions but modified the sentences to run concurrently instead of consecutively. One judge dissented, suggesting that the sentences should be modified to life.
In OCCA case No. F 2001-1506, Jose Fajardo appealed his conviction for Lewd Molestation and Indecent Proposal to a Child. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the convictions and remand for a new trial. One judge dissented. Fajardo was found guilty in a trial held in July 2001, where the jury decided he should go to prison for five years for Lewd Molestation and fifteen years for Indecent Proposal, with the sentences to be served one after the other. He appealed these decisions. Fajardo argued nine different reasons why his trial was unfair. He thought the court made mistakes, like not allowing his lawyer to question a juror properly, which he said made it hard for him to get a fair trial. He also said his lawyer didn’t do a good job because important witnesses were not there during the trial. Another point he made was that charging him with two separate crimes instead of one was unfair. After looking at everything, the court decided that one specific mistake was serious enough to warrant a new trial. The court found that a special advocate, who was allowed to help the victim during the trial, should not have been there because there was no law allowing that in this type of case. The special advocate acted in a very active role and helped the prosecution, which made the trial feel unfair to Fajardo. Because this was a big mistake that affected the fairness of the trial, the court ordered a new trial. The other arguments made by Fajardo did not need to be looked at since this one reason was enough to lead to a new trial.
In OCCA case No. F-2001-1165, Shawn R. Chapman appealed his conviction for multiple serious crimes. In a published decision, the court decided to modify some of his sentences. One judge dissented. Chapman was found guilty of several serious charges, including first-degree rape, rape by instrumentation, kidnapping, and drug-related offenses in Logan County. He was given lengthy prison sentences, amounting to a total of 480 years. Chapman raised many reasons to challenge his convictions and sentences. He argued that the evidence presented against him was unfairly prejudicial, and he claimed that his lawyer's comments during the trial hurt his case. Chapman also thought that the jury's verdicts for some of the sexual crimes were not allowed under the law because they were too similar. He felt that the trial court did not allow enough time for his lawyer to prepare and that his sentences were too harsh. The court examined all the evidence and arguments. They found no reason to overturn the convictions but decided that some of the sentences should be changed. The judges agreed that the evidence from other crimes was relevant and that it did not unfairly influence the jury. They believed that the sentences for the rape charges were too long and changed them to life imprisonment, while still upholding the other sentences. The court concluded that there were no overall errors that would change the outcome of the trial, and they affirmed most of the decisions made by the lower court. However, one judge disagreed with the modification of the sentences, believing that the jury's decisions on the punishments were justified given the severity of the crimes Chapman committed.
In OCCA case No. F-2000-1156, Randy Scott Bucsok appealed his conviction for lewd molestation and rape by instrumentation. In a published decision, the court decided to reverse the lower court's judgment and remand the case for a new trial. One judge dissented. Bucsok was found guilty of multiple charges, including lewd molestation and rape by instrumentation. The jury sentenced him to a total of 60 years in prison, with some sentences running consecutively while others were partially suspended. Following his conviction, Bucsok raised several arguments in his appeal regarding mistakes made during the trial. First, he argued that the trial court made a mistake by not allowing two witnesses, Shell and Kemble, to testify. The court found this was a serious error because their testimony could have been important to Bucsok's defense. The judges believed that excluding this evidence hurt Bucsok's chance for a fair trial. Bucsok also claimed that the trial court wrongly allowed hearsay testimony from other witnesses. However, the court decided that this part of the trial was handled correctly and that the testimony was admissible. Additionally, Bucsok expressed concern about unfair evidence being presented to the jury regarding uncharged crimes, but the court determined that there was no plain error in how this evidence was managed. Finally, he disagreed with the trial court’s decision to bar testimony about the victim's behavior that could explain injuries. In conclusion, the court found that the trial court had made critical mistakes, particularly in not allowing key witnesses to testify, which warranted a new trial for Bucsok.
In OCCA case No. F-2000-912, Jerry Leon McManus, Jr. appealed his conviction for several serious crimes, including Kidnapping, Assault, Rape by Instrumentation, and Sodomy. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to modify his convictions on two counts to a lesser charge and change the sentences but upheld his other convictions. One judge dissented. The case started in a court in Muskogee County where McManus was accused of multiple crimes against a victim. A trial jury found him guilty of most counts after being directed that he was not guilty of a few charges. Each of the remaining charges led to a life sentence that would run at the same time. On appeal, McManus presented several arguments about why he should not have been convicted. He said the trial court did not explain the rules correctly regarding one type of crime, leading to confusion. He also argued that the court allowed some evidence about past actions of his that were not relevant to the case, and he believed this affected the fairness of the trial. Furthermore, he claimed the prosecutor made improper comments during the trial and said there wasn’t enough evidence to support his convictions for certain crimes. The court reviewed these arguments carefully. It agreed with McManus on one point: the jury should have been instructed properly about the crime of Rape by Instrumentation. Since the jury was incorrectly steered towards a greater charge, the court decided to change McManus's convictions for this specific crime to a lesser offense of Second Degree Rape by Instrumentation and adjusted his sentence to fifteen years for those two counts instead of life imprisonment. However, the court found that even though some evidence from old crimes should not have been shared, it did not change the outcome of the trial. The jury's decision was seen as just because there was enough solid evidence presented against McManus. The court also thought that despite various issues raised during the trial, those did not combine to make the trial unfair or warrant a full reversal of all convictions. In summary, while the court changed some aspects regarding the Rape by Instrumentation, they affirmed the rest of the convictions and sentences for McManus, deciding he would serve a reduced time for the lesser charges but still maintain his convictions for the other serious crimes.