Posted on November 16, 2014 in Negligence
When a customer slips and falls on an icy sidewalk outside the store, who is responsible if the customer is injured? Is it the customer or the business? In most premises liability cases, the customer is responsible if the condition was “open and obvious,” but where the injury is caused by ice, Oklahoma law imposes… read more…
Posted on November 6, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force
How should police respond when a person has communicated a intent to provoke a deadly confrontation? According to reports by the Tulsa World, this scenario recently occurred in east Tulsa and resulted in an officer shooting a citizen armed with two BB guns. You can read the article here. According to reports, a suicide hotline… read more…
Posted on November 3, 2014 in Civil Rights,Privacy
Apple’s new TouchID – which unlocks the iPhone using a fingerprint instead of a four digit password – is intended to ratchet up the security level of the data stored on your phone. While this new feature may frustrate hackers, it may be less effective at keeping out the police, and may actually give them… read more…
Posted on October 29, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force
Who is responsible when an on-duty sheriff’s deputy sexually assaults a citizen? The arrest of former Tulsa County Sheriff’s deputy Gerald Nuckolls will test that question. Nuckolls was arrested in September for allegedly assaulting two women while on duty, and the Tulsa World is now reporting that prosecutors have charged Nuckolls in connection with another… read more…
Posted on July 22, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force
Attocknie v. Smith, 2014 WL _________ (E.D.Okla. 2014) (citation pending), the court held that the doctrine of qualified immunity does not apply to Bosh claims arising under state law involving excessive force. Qualified immunity is a doctrine that applies to federal civil rights claims that says if the law was not clearly established at the… read more…
Posted on June 28, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force,Uncategorized
In a recent decision from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the court held that the Oklahoma state constitutional right recognized in Bosh v. Cherokee County Governmental Building Authority, 335 P.3d 904 (Okla. 2013) applies beyond the four walls of a county jail. In other words, Oklahoma’s state constitutional right… read more…
Posted on June 24, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force
On May 9, 2014, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals held that application of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bosh v. Cherokee County Governmental Building Authority, 305 P.3d 994 (Okla. 2013) requires an arrest or seizure. See Jackson v. Oklahoma City School Public School, 2014 OK CIV APP 61. In Jackson, the parents of a… read more…
Posted on June 17, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force
An officer-involved shooting in Nowata, Oklahoma has raised questions about the constitutionality of the Trooper’s conduct, and how a recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court might impact the investigation into the shooting. On June 16, 2014, a trooper with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol shot a fleeing man. Based on reports, the man possessed a… read more…
Posted on May 29, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force
Depending on the circumstance, pointing a gun at a child can constitute excessive force, even where the person holding the gun never put their hands on the child, and where the child suffered no physical injury. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed this issue in Holland ex rel. Overdorff v. Harrington, 268 F.3d 1179 (10th… read more…
Posted on May 28, 2014 in Civil Rights,Excessive Force
The answer generally depends on what preceded the suspect’s attempt to flee, and whether the police have a reasonable belief that the suspect is dangerous. In Plumhoff v. Rickard, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that police officers may shoot a fleeing suspect in a car who is considered dangerous, and that they may continue shooting… read more…