A sheriff sneaks into your farm field in the early hours of the morning to plant a camera. Is it legal or not? The question came up in Rogers County when the office of Sheriff Scott Walton apparently placed a camera somewhere on 400 acres of farmland owned by county commissioner Kirt Thaker. Walton said […]
Rogers County Sheriff's Spy Cam Highlights Open Fields Doctrine in Oklahoma Read Post »
In the language of law, it is called expunction or expungement. In popular parlance, it is often called having your court records sealed. In Oklahoma, a person arrested for a crime or convicted on criminal charges in certain circumstances can petition a court to seal their records. One of those circumstances involves a misdemeanor conviction
Oklahoma Misdemeanors Further Defined in Expungement Case Read Post »
Some Internet data transfer speeds now approach the speed of light. Data transfer in Oklahoma courts is not nearly so fast.
Oklahoma courts’ efforts to provide online access to statewide court records were moving at a snail’s pace event before they came to a full stop on June 9, 2014.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Cancels Online Court Records Contract Read Post »
According to a Massachusetts judge, the parents of a Connecticut teenager did terrible things to their daughter. First, they took her to the hospital seeking medical treatment for a bad case of the flu. Then, when state workers seized custody of the teen, the parents talked publicly about the state’s seizure of their teenaged child.
Girl in State Custody Begs Judge 'Let Me Go Home' Read Post »
Parents’ housekeeping skills often become the subject of debate in child custody cases. An Oklahoma Child Protective Services employee or an embattled spouse might argue that pet hair from household pets, the smell of farm animals, dusty surfaces and – especially – mice or bugs are evidence of child neglect. A new study by Johns
A Dirty Oklahoma Home Might Not Indicate Child Neglect Read Post »
Wirth Law Office’s Tulsa car accident lawyer helped get fair compensation for a woman injured in a Tulsa auto accident that resulted from a driver texting while driving.
Client Review: Tulsa Car Accident Lawyer Read Post »
Oklahoma Child Custody Can Now Be Delegated Without a Court Order A new Oklahoma law adopted in 2014 now allows parents to sign voluntary agreements that transfer custody of a child to another person. The non-judicial delegation of parental custody by power of attorney can last as little as 24 hours or as long as
How to Voluntarily Transfer Child Custody in Oklahoma Read Post »
The Oklahoma Supreme Court eventually upheld the execution secrecy law. In the process, the court established that a person condemned to die still has a right to approach Oklahoma courts.
Even the Condemned Have Access to Oklahoma Courts Read Post »
With the help of a Tulsa guardianship attorney at Wirth Law Office, the mother of a disabled veteran secured guardianship of her son so he could get the care he needed.
Client Review: Tulsa Guardianship Attorney Read Post »
Dangerous overcrowding continues at Tulsa County’s David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center, according to online jail records. With 1,751 inmates in custody on Monday, April 28, 2014, the Tulsa County lockup housed 37 more residents than the jail’s maximum rated capacity. The recent Monday-morning population was about 100 inmates more than than the jail can
Tulsa County Jail Dangerously Overcrowded – Again Read Post »
A former director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections says private prisons in Oklahoma are scheming to keep people behind bars so they can increase corporate profits. The lifelong corrections employee unloaded on the private prison industry in the most improbable of places. In an unlikely liaison between a career corrections official and the American
Oklahoma Corrections Official Says Private Prisons Immoral Read Post »
In an expedited ruling that averted a looming constitutional crisis, the Oklahoma Supreme Court on April 23, 2014, reversed a district court decision related to secrecy surrounding execution procedures. The decision means Oklahoma may execute two convicted killers without triggering a constitutional showdown. A looming constitutional crisis emerged when attorneys asked a district court to
Oklahoma Supreme Court Averts Constitutional Crisis Read Post »
Constitutional Showdown Looms Over Oklahoma Death Penalty Secrecy In the virtual shadows of modern-day gallows, Oklahoma’s two highest courts in April, 2014 became embroiled in a historic constitutional showdown. The top civil court stayed two pending executions after the top criminal court twice refused to order the executions stayed. Then, within hours of a scheduled
Oklahoma Constitutional Crisis Imminent! Read Post »
Americans’ Fourth Amendment right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” ranks among the most zealously protected freedoms we enjoy in the United States. Yet an ever-growing list of exceptions appears to erode those fundamental freedoms. Lawmakers in both Oklahoma and Tennessee recently voted to stop some
Oklahoma Lawmakers Take Aim at Privateers; Tennessee Targets 'Voluntary' Roadside Stops Read Post »
If you are a diligent worker and lose your job in Oklahoma, you most likely will be entitled to unemployment benefits. Every employer is required to pay unemployment insurance to cover displaced workers unemployment compensation for a limited period of time or until they find another job. This article explains how to file for unemployment
How to File for Unemployment in Oklahoma Read Post »
Tulsa child custody attorneys at Wirth Law Office understand grandparents rights. The grandparents rights attorneys helped keep a child in the family after the death of a parent.
Client Review: Tulsa Grandparents Rights Attorney Read Post »
The spread of smartphone technology has dramatically increased the frequency with which people use text messages for legal purposes in Oklahoma civil cases and criminal trials. Yet litigants who need to show the contents of text messages in court can face several hurdles. The simplest hurdle is often merely preserving the contents of text messages.
Oklahoma Courts: How to Save Text Messages for Legal Purposes Read Post »
The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) has lodged a disciplinary complaint against District 18 District Attorney Farley Ward alleging he withheld information from defense attorneys in a 2009 first-degree murder case. The Bar has also filed a complaint against defense attorney Rex Starr, who defended Clinton R. Potts in the 2009 case. Potts was convicted for
Bar Association Alleges Oklahoma District Attorney Withheld Evidence Read Post »
An Oklahoma bill that could make divorce lawyers wealthy and force some children to remain in homes where one parent wants to leave inched forward Feb. 20, 2014, when the Government Modernization Committee voted 5-3 in favor of the measure. House Bill 1548 would prohibit no-fault divorce in cases where either party objects to a
'Fairness in Fault Act' Would Make Oklahoma Divorce Attorneys Rich Read Post »
Oklahoma residents may go to Oklahoma courts to file lawsuits against out of state Internet merchants. A Feb. 11, 2014 Oklahoma Supreme Court decision determined the state’s courts have jurisdiction over some individuals and companies who do business with state residents from outside the state. The ruling relied on federal court decisions that say an
Oklahoma Residents May Now Sue Out-of-State Web Merchants Read Post »
A January 28, 2014, Oklahoma Supreme Court decision makes it difficult — if not impossible — for the state to continue revoking drivers licenses based on evidence provided by the current generation of breath analysis machinery. Currently anyone arrested for DUI in Oklahoma who blows a .08 or more (or refuses to blow) has their
Oklahoma Supreme Court Throws Wrench in Intoxilyzer 8000 Breathalyzer Read Post »
Workers injured on the job in Oklahoma have two more days to file claims under the current workers compensation system. A legislative initiative dismantled the current Oklahoma Workers Compensation Court system, to be replaced Feb. 1 by an administrative system overseen by a newly created Oklahoma Workers Compensation Commission. While injured workers have limited rights
Workers Compensation Deadline: Jan 31, 2014 Read Post »
Where love and commitment aren’t enough to hold a marriage together, a couple of Oklahoma legislators have a better idea. They want to make laws to keep unhappy couples together. Rep. Arthur Hulbert of Fort Gibson has proposed a bill that would double the minimum time it takes for couples to get a divorce. Another
Lawmakers Seek to Complicate Oklahoma Divorce Procedures Read Post »
In Stringtown, Oklahoma, south of McAlister, city police are on the job – but they are not allowed to patrol highways looking for traffic violations in the town of 400. That could include US Hwy. 69 and Oklahoma Highway 43, dubbed Reba McEnteire Ave. through parts of Stringtown. Stringtown cops found themselves on the wrong
Oklahoma Speedtrap Law Ensnares Stringtown Cops Read Post »
Obstruction charges and internal investigations sent local cops to the bench in two Oklahoma towns while unhappy officials in another fired their only remaining officer. A newly hired Wagoner police officer on Jan. 9, 2013, pleaded not guilty to obstructing a police officer. Wagoner County Sheriff’s investigators allege Sgt. Shalyn Jay surrendered the wrong cell
Miami Cop Faces Obstruction Beef, Hubby Fired as Porter Top Cop Read Post »
