Criminal Law

Facing criminal charges can be overwhelming and confusing. Understanding your rights and the complexities of criminal law is essential to protect your future. Whether you are dealing with minor offenses or serious accusations, having a knowledgeable advocate can make a critical difference. For those seeking trusted guidance, a Tulsa criminal law attorney can help clarify the legal process and outline your options.

If you need legal help, call Wirth Law Office at (918) 879-1681. The experienced Tulsa attorney team at Wirth Law Office understands the stakes involved and works diligently to build a strong defense tailored to your case. Early and effective legal support can reduce uncertainty and protect your rights under Oklahoma law.

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Plea Bargains in Oklahoma: Can Prosecutors Hide Exculpatory Evidence?
U.S. Appellate courts have handed down mixed opinions about the right of defendants to inspect exculpatory evidence during plea negotiations. The Brady rule otherwise entitles defendants to inspect exculpatory evidence before going to trial. The 10th Circuit, which includes Oklahoma, says the Brady rule does extend to <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">plea negotiations</a>. A West Virginia state court opinion summarized nationwide jurisprudence related to the Brady rule during plea negotiations. Read more »
Oklahoma Cop's DNA Transfer Defense Exposes Flaws in Touch DNA Evidence
Shreds of Evidence Are Not Always Reliable A defense attorney representing an Oklahoma City police officer facing six counts of first-degree rape told jurors a woman’s DNA found inside the officer’s pants is not evidence that he raped her. “It’s transfer DNA,” the attorney argued in the November, 2015 trial of Daniel Holtzclaw. Whether the […] Read more »
Why You Need a Good Oklahoma Defense Attorney
Although a <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">good Oklahoma criminal defense attorney</a> can sometimes turn the tables on steamroller prosecution, effective criminal defense requires preparation and resources. Take a look at how capital defense attorneys in Virginia brought executions to a near standstill after criminal defense teams got the resources required to provide proper representation. Read more »
Oklahoma Criminal Law: Evidence Stacks Up Against Forensic Evidence
Forensic experts at a Texas crime lab are walking back claims that DNA evidence singled out defendants with 1-in-a-million certainty. It is part of a pattern of errors, lies, neglect, conflicts of interest and exaggeration among forensic labs nationwide. <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">Criminal defense attorneys in Oklahoma</a> must challenge misplaced trust in forensic evidence. Read more »
Police Officers Arrested in Oklahoma More Often Than You Might Think
Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz is one of more than a dozen Oklahoma law enforcement officers charged with crimes in 2015. Other officers were charged with assault and battery against suspects, sex crimes involving minors and drunken driving. A <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">Tulsa criminal defense attorney</a> compiled this list. Read more »
Oklahoma Court Finds No Right to Resist Illegal Detention
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals refusal to suppress evidence of resisting arrest during an illegal traffic stop removes an important deterrent to police misconduct. The court said people may reasonably resist illegal arrest but may not lawfully resist illegal detention. A <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">Tulsa defense attorney</a> says people often have no way of knowing whether they are illegally detained or illegally arrested. Read more »
Court Overturns Part of Oklahoma Drug Dealer Liability Act
The Oklahoma Supreme Court struck down part of the drug dealer liability law that created broad market share liability for distributors of illegal drugs. <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-personal-injury-attorney.html">Tulsa injury attorneys</a> may still file claims against drug dealers whose activities can be tied to individuals named in a drug dealer liability lawsuit. Read more »
More Charges Filed in Rogers County Scandal
New charges filed against a current and a former Rogers County Commissioner mirror allegations leveled in a <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/tulsa-attorney-blog/2013/10/how-to-petition-for-a-grand-jury-in-oklahoma">citizens grand jury petition</a>. Read more »
Legislature Reforms Oklahoma Mandatory Minimum Sentences
<a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">Criminal defense attorneys in Tulsa</a> will have new opportunities to argue for probation or alternative sentences under new Oklahoma mandatory minimum sentence reforms. Read more »
What Does Obstructing an Officer Mean in Tulsa Oklahoma?
Some criticism of police is protected speech, yet contempt of cop cases are often masked as disorderly conduct, resisting, and <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-misdemeanor-criminal-defense-representation-attorney.html">obstructing an officer charges</a>. In Houston v. Hill, the Supreme Court said a man who shouted at police "pick on someone my size" engaged in protected First Amendment speech. Read more »
Free To Go? Oklahoma Court Decides Consent to Search Case
In an unpublished consent to search case, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decided a man did not voluntarily <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">consent to a search</a> after police blocked the sidewalk where he was walking. Citing Florida v. Royer, the appellate judges said it was the State's burden to show “clear and convincing” proof that the search was consensual. Read more »
Oklahoma Court Affirms Life Sentence in Error Ridden Hit and Run Case
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals acknowledged there were errors in the trial that sent Joey Lynn Smith to prison for life after a hit-and-run accident. The errors the court acknowledged – and others errors the <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">Oklahoma criminal defense attorneys</a> alleged on appeal – are only part of the story. For a hit-and-run case, the prosecution essentially argued an assault and battery with a deadly weapon case. Read more »
Former Rogers County Commissioner Charged With 2011 Embezzlement
The former Rogers County Commissioner who filed a libel suit against critics over a petition that asked a grand jury to investigate embezzlement allegations has been charged with embezzlement. A Claremore detective who circulated the petition was among those who first investigated the <a href="https://stage4.wirthlawgroup.com/lawyer/tulsa-oklahoma-criminal-defense-attorney.html">embezzlement</a> allegations -- two years before the citizens' petition sought a grand jury investigation. Read more »
Oklahoma Juvenile Certification Case Raises 8th Amendment Questions
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decided in a March 20, 2015 opinion that adults charged for crimes committed in their youth must be tried and sentenced as adults. Recent Supreme Court decisions, however, suggest youthful status is related to the age and mental status of youth at the time of their crimes. Read more »
Fake Cell Tower Technology Lets Cops Avoid Judicial Oversight
Secret Technology Flouts Wiretap Laws “‘Inhibiting law enforcement’s rights are second to protecting mine!’ (Florida Circuit Court Judge Frank) Sheffield thundered, gesturing with both hands and fixing his gaze on the prosecutor.” That is how the Washington Post described a Florida judge’s response to a prosecutor who tried to deny a defendant information about sophisticated […] Read more »
10th Circuit Says No Rounding For Age of Consent Law
Days Count in Statutory Rape Age Differences How would you interpret a statutory rape law that permits sexual contact between an 18 year old and someone four years younger? Does it mean an 18 year old and a 14 year old, or someone born within 48 months of the day the 18 year old was born? The United States Court of […] Read more »
Oklahoma Court Erodes Confrontation Clause Shield Against Hearsay
An Oklahoma court has decided a defendant does not have the right to confront authors of a list that tracks cold pill purchases used as evidence in criminal trials. The decision chips away at a constitutional protection known as the confrontation clause. The confrontation clauses of the Oklahoma Constitution and United States Constitution alike afford […] Read more »
Governor Stacks Oklahoma Parole Board with Cops, Prosecutors
The start of a new gubernatorial term in Oklahoma means another opportunity for the governor to appoint three members of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. Gov. Mary Fallin took the opportunity to further stack the board with retired cops and former prosecutors. Read more »
Overdoses Increase as Oklahoma Cracks Down on Methamphetamine
Users call it go fast. Police and Oklahoma lawmakers call it a scourge. Whatever you call it, despite a decade of intensive legal battles, meth use in Oklahoma seems to be going nowhere but up. For some users though, the only place they go fast is down. Go down as in go to prison or, […] Read more »
Oklahoma Court Sneaks In Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule
Unpublished Decision Reverses Earlier Precedent Courts lately seem to find ever more twisted logic to explain away constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures – a right the constitution says “shall not be violated.” The United States Supreme Court took a broadaxe to the Fourth Amendment when it declared in United States v. Calandra, 414 […] Read more »
Good Faith Exception Rewards Cops' Ignorance
Exclusionary Rule Further Eroded Is it reasonable for a police officer not to know the law? The United States Supreme Court recently said yes, sometimes. What’s more, the court provided an incentive for police to adopt expansive interpretations of the law until a court tells them otherwise. In a December 15, 2014 decision, the court […] Read more »
Oklahoma Attorney General seeks 'Gag Order' in Prison Rape Case
Attorneys for a group of women allegedly raped by prison guards say the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office is seeking a gag order that would unnecessarily bar attorneys from speaking with news media. Read more »
Grand Jury Calls for Standardized Oklahoma Giglio Policies
No Rogers County Officials Indicted An Oklahoma grand jury has recommended that the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office draft model policies to guide prosecutors’ handling of information that could assist criminal defendants. The recommendation was the most substantive result of a grand-jury investigation into alleged wrongdoing among Rogers County prosecutors and police. The clock ran out […] Read more »
Surge in Oklahoma Prison Intakes Did Not Ease Tulsa Jail Crowding
Jail Population Trending Upward A move to transfer prison-bound inmates from county jails has not reduced ongoing overcrowding at Tulsa County jail. The last time the Tulsa jail population dipped below the jail’s rated capacity of 1,700 inmates was more than a month ago, on July 18, 2014. While Tulsa County jail remains crowded, inmates […] Read more »
Police Misconduct in Oklahoma: Tulsa Officer Charged with Murder
Misconduct Makes Cop’s Testimony Unreliable When police officers step on the wrong side of the law, the personal tragedy in some ways resembles that of any other person in trouble with the law. Regardless of an urge to gloat among those – including criminal defense attorneys – who often engage cops in legal battles, it […] Read more »