Oklahoma

$465M verdict against maker of opioids is tossed; top state court finds no public nuisance

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a $465 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson, accused of creating a public nuisance through a misleading marketing campaign that promoted opioid use.

Nov 10, 2021 9:44 AM CST

Inmate convulses and vomits during lethal injection in state with history of problem executions

Oklahoma inmate John Marion Grant convulsed and vomited Thursday during an execution that happened after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a stay in a 5-3 vote.

Oct 29, 2021 10:17 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Skirts-only dress code gets rehearing; ex-judge reprimanded for ‘sexual innuendo’

En banc 4th Circuit will rehear school dress-code case The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, has granted an en banc rehearing to consider a challenge to a skirts-and-dresses-only dress code for girls. A 4th Circuit panel ruled in August that the girls attending the Charter Day…

Oct 22, 2021 4:07 PM CDT

What is the starting pay for public defenders? Low salaries discourage applicants

The median starting salary for public defenders is $63,638, according to information supplied by public defender offices in larger cities throughout the United States.

Oct 21, 2021 12:16 PM CDT

In 2 summary reversals, Supreme Court rules for officers who kneed and shot suspects

In two summary reversals Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for police officers who kneed a suspect with a knife and fatally shot another man wielding a hammer.

Oct 18, 2021 10:44 AM CDT

Oklahoma drops cert request seeking to limit McGirt tribal decision after favorable state court ruling

After a favorable ruling in state court, Oklahoma’s attorney general is withdrawing a cert petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn or limit a decision that upended the state’s criminal justice system.

Sep 7, 2021 2:22 PM CDT

Education Department opens investigations on states prohibiting school masking requirements

States with laws that prohibit indoor masking requirements, including at schools, might discriminate against students at risk for severe illness if they contract the COVID-19 virus, according to an Aug. 30 news release from the U.S. Department of Education.

Aug 30, 2021 2:12 PM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Judge adds vaccination to bail conditions; criminal cases affected by ‘massive’ data loss

Federal judge orders vaccination as bail condition U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of Manhattan on Tuesday ordered a drug defendant to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of bail. Rakoff said he could order the vaccination as a condition of release under the Bail Reform Act, which allows more…

Aug 20, 2021 3:00 PM CDT

Supreme Court tribal decision ‘has upended Oklahoma’s criminal justice system;’ will ruling be curtailed?

Oklahoma’s criminal justice system is grappling with the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year ruling that a large part of eastern central Oklahoma is an American Indian reservation.

Jul 26, 2021 4:16 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Internet research is costly for juror; bar dues claim partly resurrected

Federal juror’s internet research cost over $11K A federal judge in New Jersey has held a juror in contempt and fined him more than $11,000 for conducting internet research on a case, despite warnings against such conduct. U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler of the District of New Jersey had declared…

Jun 30, 2021 4:35 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Suit tossed over ‘stateless’ BigLaw partners; Lafayette Square claims dismissed

Perkins Coie wins suit dismissal because of ‘stateless’ partners The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago has ruled that former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page can’t sue Perkins Coie for defamation in federal court. Page had alleged that the law firm and the Democratic National Committee retained Fusion…

Jun 22, 2021 4:53 PM CDT

Arizona reportedly prepares gas chamber for execution by cyanide, the gas used at Auschwitz

Arizona officials have “gone to considerable lengths to revive the state’s mothballed gas chamber,” according to a recently released report by the Guardian.

Jun 7, 2021 9:02 AM CDT

Oklahoma attorney general abruptly announces resignation; his office is sorting out tribal case decision

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter announced his resignation Wednesday—a day after the Oklahoman submitted questions to him about an affair with a state employee.

May 27, 2021 1:24 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: DOJ civil rights nominee defends letter; lawyer charged in triple murder

DOJ civil rights nominee defends satirical letter Kristen Clarke, the president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, defended her past statements and writings Wednesday during a hearing on her nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Republicans are troubled by a 1994 letter…

Apr 15, 2021 4:42 PM CDT

For first time in history, federal government carried out more civilian executions than all 50 states

Ten federal inmates were executed this year as a result of a push by the Department of Justice, putting the total number of federal executions above that of all 50 states combined.

Dec 17, 2020 3:07 PM CST