Oklahoma

10th Circuit grants immunity to social workers in child abuse case

When the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a case of child abuse it called “horrific,” it stressed that it wasn’t pleased with its own ruling.

May 10, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Tulsa lawyer’s viral post says 100 female lawyers will march to end ‘educational funding nightmare’

A Tulsa adoption lawyer who wants a legislative solution to Oklahoma’s “educational funding nightmare” hopes a brigade of 100 female attorneys can make a difference. Lawyer Becki Murphy wrote about her plans for a march to the Capitol in a viral Facebook post, the Tulsa World reports. The lawyers will…

Apr 6, 2018 9:33 AM CDT

Why Oklahoma plans to execute people with nitrogen

Oklahoma has always been the nation’s laboratory for capital punishment. It was a state legislator named Bill Wiseman who in 1977 came up with the idea of lethal injection by asking the state medical examiner for a more humane, scientific way to put human beings to death. It looks like…

Mar 16, 2018 2:50 PM CDT

8 states file brief supporting the government’s attempt to deny abortions to immigrant minors

Eight states described as having “a legitimate and substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life” have weighed in on a lawsuit seeking to clear the way for immigrant minors in federal custody to have abortions. An amicus brief in Garza v. Hargan from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan,…

Jan 9, 2018 4:02 PM CST

Nevada plans to use fentanyl in upcoming execution

Nearly a year ago, Nevada death row inmate Scott Dozier asked to be executed, telling a state court judge he would forego his appeals. A doctor deemed Dozier, who was convicted of the 2002 shooting and dismemberment death of 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller, competent to make the decision. But a problem…

Sep 5, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Inmates’ escape par for the course in private prison transport industry

The private prisoner transport company whose van was stolen by two inmates last week in Oklahoma — precipitating a national manhunt that remains underway — may be feeling a sense of deja vu. The company has suffered at least half a dozen other escapes in the last five years. Inmate…

Sep 1, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Tulsa police officer acquitted in fatal shooting of unarmed man

A white police officer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was acquitted of manslaughter on Wednesday in the shooting death of an unarmed black man last September. Jurors deliberated more than nine hours before they announced the acquittal of Betty Shelby, report the Tulsa World, the New York Times and the Washington Post.…

May 18, 2017 10:43 AM CDT

Oklahoma unintentionally adopts loser-pays system for attorney fees in civil cases

Oklahoma has adopted a loser-pays system for attorney fees and costs in civil cases, but not intentionally. Gov. Mary Fallin recently signed the bill into law, report the Tulsa World, NewsOK and KFOR-TV of Oklahoma City. The loser-pays requirement was an amendment to a bill giving victims of child sexual…

May 18, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Oklahoma death penalty moratorium should continue until flaws are addressed, commission says

An independent commission is recommending that Oklahoma’s moratorium on the death penalty be extended until reforms can address “the volume and seriousness of the flaws” in the state’s capital punishment system. One of the commission co-chairs, former Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, announced the study findings at a press conference Tuesday,…

Apr 26, 2017 12:51 PM CDT

Graduate of two law schools who never attended college may take the bar exam, court rules

Caleb Alexander Harlin never attended college, but he has two law degrees and one law license. He now will have the opportunity to obtain a law license in a second state as a result of a ruling on Tuesday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The decision overturns the Oklahoma Board…

Mar 30, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Oklahoma lawyer and the woman he represented in a divorce are shot and killed

A lawyer in Norman, Oklahoma, and his divorce client were shot and killed, apparently by the woman’s estranged husband, authorities said on Wednesday. The victims are lawyer Bryan Young, 47, and his client, Cayann Patterson, 49, report the Norman Transcript and the Oklahoman. Young was an associate at Ward Glass…

Feb 9, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Inmate’s 43-minute execution didn’t violate clearly established law, 10th Circuit rules

A botched execution that continued for 43 minutes, causing the condemned man to writhe and grimace in pain, didn’t violate clearly established law regarding cruel and unusual punishment, a federal appeals court has ruled. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the Oklahoma inmate, Clayton Lockett, suffered…

Nov 17, 2016 7:00 AM CST

Voters in three states back capital punishment in ballot initiatives

Voters in three states on Tuesday passed ballot initiatives supporting capital punishment. In California, voters rejected a measure to repeal the death penalty and passed a measure that seeks to speed up the appeal process, report the Los Angeles Times and the Marshall Project. The measure to speed up executions…

Nov 9, 2016 9:52 AM CST

Tulsa officer is charged with manslaughter in fatal shooting

A police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man, a charge that carries a minimum sentence of four years in prison. Prosecutors charged officer Betty Shelby in the Sept. 16 shooting death of Terence Crutcher, report the New York…

Sep 22, 2016 4:35 PM CDT

Oklahoma governor vetoes bill that made it a felony to perform abortions

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin says she has signed 18 bills supporting “pro-life and pro-family measures,” but she could not sign a measure making it a felony for doctors to perform abortions. Fallin vetoed the bill on Friday, saying she doubted the bill would survive a legal challenge, report the Washington…

May 23, 2016 8:55 AM CDT