Volume 2 No. 43 | Oct. 26, 2022
Courts
- 2022 OK 84: MILNE v. HUDSON
- 2022 OK 85: GALIER v. MURCO WALL PRODUCTS
- 2022 OK CR 27: METOYER v. STATE
- 2022 OK CIV APP 35: THE B&F CORPORATION v. CAVERS
Dispositions Other than by Published Opinions
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma Court Calendar
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is in session year round, unless otherwise noted. The Court regularly schedules conferences on Mondays and other days as needed.
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The OBA Diversity Committee will host the 2022 Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Diversity Awards Dinner in conjunction with this year’s OBA Annual Meeting. The dinner and awards ceremony begins at
7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, at the Oklahoma City Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City. The OBA welcomes Dr. Mautra Staley Jones, president of Oklahoma City Community College, as this year's keynote speaker.
Register now to attend this annual event aimed at advancing justice, fairness and inclusivity within the legal profession.
During the ceremony, this year’s OBA Diversity Award recipients will be recognized. Click to see this year's winners.
The October Oklahoma Bar Journal features several articles reflecting the Gaming theme. Flip through the pages online in the interactive digital edition.
William R. Norman Jr., M. Vincent Amato and Michael McMahan authored the article "Preliminary Observations on the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Landscape after the McGirt and Castro-Huerta Decisions":
"The Supreme Court again weighed in on jurisdictional issues between Oklahoma and its tribes in June 2022 in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, holding that concurrent state and federal jurisdiction exists over prosecutions in Indian country. The McGirt and Castro-Huerta decisions create the potential for new tribal-state disputes to permeate Oklahoma Indian gaming. This article briefly discusses the established Indian gaming legal structures against which McGirt and Castro-Huerta should be viewed and observed concerning efforts to erode the mature Indian gaming market in Oklahoma, which have so far been unsuccessful."
In the summer of 2022, the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation conducted a study of Oklahoma’s eviction courts. Three key issues stood out from that study: 1) geographic inequality, 2) Oklahoma’s two different paths to eviction and 3) inconsistencies in the application of the Landlord Tenant Act. Click here to see the full report.
"This summer, housing courts in our state often failed to serve many Oklahomans but especially our most vulnerable citizens, the elderly and parents with children. These issues arose from various places: overcrowded dockets, geographic inequality, underused mediation and inconsistent applications of the Landlord Tenant Act. Common sense solutions are available. Enhanced filing requirements, judicial training, investments in mediation and sensible changes to the Landlord Tenant Act can improve both equity and efficiency in our housing courts."
"On Oct. 31, 2017, USA Today opinion contributor Randy Maniloff published an article titled 'When haunted house visits go from "boo" to sue, the house usually wins.' In the article, Mr. Maniloff posits the question of whether the legal system tolerates 'otherwise unacceptable behavior simply because it takes place in the season of ghosts and goblins.' The short answer? It does. As one would assume, a lot of this 'behavior' would be covered under various theories, including, but not limited to, the assumption of risk. But where’s the fun in this? Let’s forget about that. I want to highlight some of my favorite cases."
Key business of the association will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 4 when the General Assembly and House of Delegates convene during the Annual Meeting at the Oklahoma City Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City. The program includes OBA award presentations, updates from judicial and OBA leaders, elections and consideration of resolutions. The Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society will present the colors. Click here to view the agenda.
Congratulations to the 2023 OBA leadership and candidates. The Nominating Petition deadline was 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, and Pursuant to Rule 3 Section 3 of the OBA Bylaws, the nominees for uncontested positions have been deemed elected due to no other person filing for the position. Terms of the present OBA officers and governors will terminate Dec. 31, 2022.
Information regarding leadership and candidates was published in the October 2022 Oklahoma Bar Journal. Click here to view.
Featured CLE
The Ethics of Attorney-Client Email and Having Client Data on a Smartphone
By Jim Calloway, OBA Management Assistance Program Director
Most of us are doing business in the digital world these days, but protecting your clients' confidential information must always be top of mind. Two recently released opinions from the Pennsylvania Bar may provide helpful guidance for lawyers.
Formal Opinion 2022-500 Ethical Considerations for Lawyers Storing Information Relating to the Representation Of A Client On A Smartphone is brief. It highlights how smartphone apps can inadvertently compromise client information without an attorney being aware of the sharing. The conclusion is straightforward:
“If a lawyer stores information governed by Pa.R.P.C. 1.6 on a smartphone, then the lawyer must take steps to prevent access to or disclose of the information. Consequently, a lawyer may not consent to share the information with a smartphone app unless the lawyer concludes that no human being will view that information, and that the information will not be sold or transferred to additional third parties, without the client’s consent.”
Let me suggest that if you have apps on your smartphone that you have not used in a long time, they may have been sold to a third party with a different business model, and you may not know what access they have to information or how they will use it. Just delete them!
Formal Opinion 2022-400 Ethical Obligations for Lawyers Using Email and Transmitting Confidential Information is a 15-page opinion discussing what lawyers may and must do (in the committee’s opinion) to be safe using email with client matters. This is a great resource that should be downloaded and saved. It includes an appendix of selected opinions from other states relating to this topic.
Note: Ethics advisory opinions from other jurisdictions are not binding on Oklahoma Bar members. In fact, “advisory” means they are not binding on lawyers from the issuing jurisdiction. However, the Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility is well known for insightful and persuasive ethics opinions on lawyers’ use of technology.
The Oklahoma Bar Journal is a publication of the Oklahoma Bar Association. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2022 Oklahoma Bar Association. Statements or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. Although advertising copy is reviewed, no endorsement of any product or service offered by any advertisement is intended or implied by publication. Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their ads, and the OBA reserves the right to edit or reject any advertising copy for any reason. Legal articles carried in The Oklahoma Bar Journal are selected by the Board of Editors. Information about submissions can be found at www.okbar.org.