Oklahoma

Tulsa Reckoning

With the clock ticking, the stakes are high. This case could be the “last best hope” for the survivors to see some form of justice before they die. “This massacre impacted Black people around this nation. This is a win that we need as a people.”

Oct 1, 2022 12:00 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: SCOTUS justice’s wife stands by stolen-election views; district attorney’s daughter arrested in his stabbing

Ginni Thomas tells Jan. 6 committee about her stolen-election views Conservative activist Virginia “Ginni” Thomas told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack that she still thinks that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, according to the committee’s chair, Democratic U.S.…

Sep 30, 2022 3:13 PM CDT

Barrett joined dissenting liberal justices as Supreme Court allowed execution of inmate seeking nitrogen death

Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the high court’s three liberal justices to dissent Thursday, when it allowed the execution of an inmate who claimed that Alabama lost his request for execution by nitrogen hypoxia.

Sep 26, 2022 10:19 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Embryos can be tax dependents; top state court upholds mail voting

Georgia allows embryos to be claimed as dependents Embryos with a “detectable human heartbeat” can be claimed as dependents on state income tax returns in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Revenue issued guidance on the deduction after a federal appeals court upheld the state’s six-week abortion ban, which expands the…

Aug 5, 2022 2:59 PM CDT

Federal judge rules for drug distributors in opioid trial, says case fails under West Virginia nuisance law

A federal judge has ruled for three major drug distributors in a bench trial contending that their conduct created an opioid epidemic in Huntington, West Virginia, and the state’s Cabell County.

Jul 5, 2022 3:55 PM CDT

Lawyer is disbarred after trying to run his law practice from jail

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has disbarred a lawyer who continued practicing law from jail after his conviction for shooting and injuring a man outside an Oklahoma City nightclub.

Jul 5, 2022 8:31 AM CDT

What are abortion trigger laws, and where do they stand?

Less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, more than a dozen states have already or plan to soon ban abortion in most cases. Here’s what we know so far about where abortion bans stand in these 13 states and in other states that have laws targeting the procedure.

Jun 30, 2022 2:52 PM CDT

SCOTUS limits scope of McGirt, allows Oklahoma to prosecute some crimes on reservations

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that Oklahoma has the authority to prosecute crimes by non-Indians against Native Americans on reservations. The decision limits the reach of a prior decision that barred the state from prosecuting tribal members on reservations.

Jun 29, 2022 11:08 AM CDT

Reed Smith’s pro bono report expresses ‘grave’ concerns about death row inmate’s conviction

A lawyer for an Oklahoma inmate plans to seek a stay of execution after Reed Smith released a report on its independent investigation of the case, undertaken pro bono at the request of a bipartisan group of more than 30 state lawmakers.

Jun 17, 2022 10:57 AM CDT

Is prison time a possibility under restrictive abortion laws? One state authorizes life sentences for medical doctors

State abortion restrictions that could take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned call for a variety of punishments for doctors, including a sentence of up to life in prison in one state.

May 23, 2022 8:20 AM CDT

Supreme Court won’t hear challenges to mandatory state bars

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear challenges to mandatory state bar associations in Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas.

Apr 5, 2022 11:07 AM CDT

Oklahoma seeks death penalty against former lawyer and client in triple murder

Prosecutors in Oklahoma are seeking the death penalty against a former criminal defense lawyer and her former client for allegedly murdering three people.

Apr 4, 2022 4:18 PM CDT

Judging Jurisdiction

In July 2020 when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch read the majority opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma, Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Cozzoni sprang into action. In that moment, she knew what would happen next: Scores of major crime cases would be landing in her federal court district in Tulsa, requiring rapid adjustments and recalibration.

Apr 1, 2022 3:45 AM CDT

Many federal courts ease mask requirements; judges often retain discretion in their courtrooms

More than a dozen federal courts have eased or dropped mask requirements since the beginning of March.

Mar 11, 2022 10:04 AM CST

Weekly Briefs: Walter Dellinger dies at 80; lawyer’s ‘succubustic’ comment deemed protected speech

‘Giant in the law’ Walter Dellinger dies Former acting U.S. Solicitor General Walter Dellinger died Feb. 16 at age 80. Dellinger was a longtime professor at the Duke University School of Law and head of the Supreme Court and appellate practice at O’Melveny & Myers. O’Melveny chair Bradley J. Butwin…

Feb 18, 2022 1:45 PM CST