Role of the Oklahoma Court of Appeals

Oklahoma Court of Appeals is divided into two sub-categories: Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals and Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Appellate civil cases are handled by the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals as well as the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In cases involving criminal appeals, the legal proceedings are within the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Oklahoma’s court system is somewhat different from other U.S. states because of the presence of two courts with supreme authority; very few states have such a feature in their judicial structure.

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has four divisions. When a civil appellate case is filed with the Supreme Court, it assigns the case to one of these four divisions. Each division has three judges for hearing these cases. The names of the present judges of Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals are as follows:

•    Chief Judge E. Bay Mitchell, III
•    Judge Larry E. Joplin
•    Judge Jerry L. Goodman
•    Judge Doug Gabbard II
•    Judge Glenn D. Adams
•    Judge Keith Rapp
•    Judge Carol M. Hansen
•    Judge John Fischer
•    Judge Robert Dick Bell
•    Judge Kenneth L. Buettner
•    Judge Deborah Barnes
•    Vice-Chief Judge Jane P. Wiseman

Oklahoma City serves as the base of operations for the First and Third Divisions of the Court of Civil Appeals while the Second and Fourth Divisions operate from Tulsa. The Supreme Court of Oklahoma has the authority to publish the opinions of the Court of Civil Appeals. If they are published, they can be used as precedents in the other courts as well.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court exercises original and appellate jurisdiction over all civil cases. The appeals in civil cases can be directed from the District Court, Court of Tax Review, Workers’ Compensation Court as well as agencies operating in the state like the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Public Safety and the Oklahoma Corporate Commission. Sometimes deciding on the jurisdiction of a particular case is difficult; in such cases it is the Supreme Court that has the final say.

History of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Structure

The First Legislature, R. S. (1907-08) established the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals with the enactment of House Bill 397. The Act gave exclusive appellate jurisdiction to the court in all criminal cases filed in the state and named it the Criminal Court of Appeals of Oklahoma. The judges of the court are appointed by the Governor. The Senate is to give its advice and consent for the appointment of the judges.

According to the Act, "If in any case appealed to the Criminal Court of Appeals, in which the construction of the Constitution of this State, or of the United States, or any Act of Congress is brought in question, the said Criminal Court of Appeals shall certify to the Supreme Court of the State, the question involving the construction of the Constitution of this State, or of the United States, or any Act of Congress for final determination of the question so certified."

The Criminal Court of Appeals was made effective by the House Bill 33 which was enacted by the Second Legislature, R. S. (1909). Exclusive appellate jurisdiction was given to the court in all criminal matters. The judges serving their term of office were to continue their service. The provision for electing judges at the General Election to be held in 1910 was also made. Three Criminal Court of Appeals Judicial Districts, namely the Northern, Eastern and Southern Criminal Court of Appeals Judicial Districts, were formed for better dissemination of judicial services.

It was only in 1959 with the enactment of Senate Bill 36 by the Twenty-Seventh Legislature, R. S. that the name of the court was changed from Criminal Court of Appeals to Court of Criminal Appeals. Further modifications were made in the Oklahoma court structure according to the constitutional amendments at a special election held on July 11, 1967.

Judges of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals are chosen by a non-partisan retention ballot on a statewide basis at the General Election. This procedure to elect the judges was adopted in 1968. Each judge serves a term of 6 years and is retained only if elected by the voters. If the judges are rejected, the vacant positions are filled in by individuals appointed by the Governor.

Petitions for Certiorari

In certain circumstances, some civil appellate cases are taken up by the Supreme Court from the Court of Civil Appeals. This is done on petitions for certiorari. This gives the Supreme Court the responsibility to bring the records of the Court of Civil Appeals with regard to the case and do a review of the decision. This is an important judicial matter and is only done under certain conditions. If the justices think that the case needs to be reviewed by the Supreme Court or there are reasons that are of significance, the petitions for certiorari is granted.

Some of the reasons when certiorari is granted are as follows:

•    When the decision taken by the Court of Civil Appeals is not in conformity to a decision taken by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma or the United States Supreme Court
•    When a substantial judicial matter has been decided by the Court of Civil Appeals and which was not previously discussed or decided at the Oklahoma Supreme Court
•    When a decision taken by the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals is a considerable departure from the general course of legal proceedings
•    When the divisions of the Court of Civil Appeals have conflicting opinions about a particular case

If the case is directed from the Court of Civil Appeals on a petition for certiorari, the Supreme Court Chief Justice assigns the case to a Justice during the Monday Conferences held in the court. Such a case needs to be accompanied by the opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals on the related issues. It is the responsibility of the Referee to review the opinion and submit it along with the petition, the answer to the petition, the reply, and a note with a recommendation to the particular Justice to whom the case has been assigned.

It is then the duty of the Justice to decide whether the petition for certiorari would be granted or denied. If the petition for certiorari is accepted, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court is given the responsibility to write an opinion about it. If the petition s denied, the opinion of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals is considered the final judgment in the case.

How the Court System in Oklahoma Works

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma functions very differently from the trial courts. No jury is present; testimony from witnesses is also called for in rare occasions. The documents that the Supreme Court requires before deciding on a case are the transcript or the record of the trial, the records or the documents filed in the particular case, and the briefs or written arguments of the lawyers. The Supreme Court retains the right to decide which cases are to be handled by itself and which would go to the Court of Civil Appeals. All cases are assigned by the Chief Justice to a particular Justice on a rotating basis.

All litigants in civil and criminal cases have the right to one appeal in the State of Oklahoma. The civil appellate cases are filed directly at the Oklahoma Supreme Court. It is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to assign these civil appellate cases to one of the divisions of the Court of Civil Appeals operating in Oklahoma. The criminal appeal cases are directed to the Court of Criminal Appeals directly from the District Courts of Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court can take up a civil appellate case from the trial court directly as well. This is done when important issues of law or matters involving public interest or new first impression matters are associated with the case. Along with appeals from trial courts, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma also takes up issues from the judicial agencies, all courts, law boards and commissions operating under its umbrella. The only exceptions to this are the Senate, which acts as a Court of Impeachment, and the Court on the Judiciary.

It is the responsibility of the Justice and his or her legal staff to research all aspects of the case assigned to them. After this is completed a proposed opinion is offered to the other Justices. It is at the conferences when the Justices discuss and decide about this proposed opinion. These are held in the Supreme Court Conference Room in the morning of each Monday and Thursday. On Mondays, the topics of these conferences include bar disciplinary issues, petitions for certiorari cases, original jurisdiction matters, and so on, and it is on Thursdays that the proposed opinions are taken up for discussion. Each Justice casts a vote with regard to the case. As the Supreme Court comprises 9 Justices, a matter is settled only if 5 of them agree to a certain proposed opinion.

If the case in question is unique or involves a matter of great importance, the Supreme Court may order the appearance of the parties at the court to present their case. For this, each party gets 30 minutes, which may be separated into two sections, original argument and negation. After this a private conference of the Justices is held where the matter and the arguments of both the parties are discussed. A proposed opinion is formed by the Justice who was assigned to deal with the case. All 9 Justices consider this opinion and cast their votes to decide on the case.

Contact Information for Oklahoma Courts

The address and contact details of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma are as follows:

230 State Capitol Building
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Phone: 405-521-2156

The Oklahoma Supreme Court sits at the State Capitol Building in Oklahoma City. The contact number of the Supreme Court office of Oklahoma is (405) 521-3845 and that of the Administrative office of the Courts is (405) 521-2450. You can also have a look at all the details concerning the Oklahoma Supreme Court from http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/start.asp?viewType=COURTS.

The judges of the present Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, and their contact details, are as follows:

•    Charles A. Johnson, Presiding Judge: cjohnson@okcca.net
•    Arlene Johnson, Vice-Presiding Judge: ajohnson@okcca.net
•    Charles S. Chapel, Judge: cchapel@okcca.net
•    Gary L. Lumpkin, Judge: glumpkin@okcca.net
•    David B. Lewis, Judge: dlewis@okcca.net

Accessing Court Information Records for Oklahoma

Court case information is available for public use in the State of Oklahoma. It offers all court docket information over the Internet. Oklahoma is also trying to set up a statewide case tracking system where the information about cases filed would be available from online sources immediately. The judicial system of Oklahoma bears the cost of this online service and thus you need not pay anything to access the court records. For availing this service, you need to visit the following webpage: http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/casesearch.asp

There are a number of categories that help you narrow down your search. The first one offers you the option to choose the database you wish to search. This way you need not scan through all the court record databases for your case search. The next gives you the option to choose a case type and enter a date range as well. For specific search results, it is a good idea to fill in the search information fields like name, date of birth, case number and such others. You can conduct your search after you have filled in these criteria and all matching results would appear on your computer screen immediately.