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JACK GORDON, JR.
(Claremore), appeared before Judge Wall in Tulsa County on Monday, March 14, 2005, and secured one of the most elusive legal victories of all: post-conviction relief in the state district court in a capital case(!!) Jack's client, John Hanson, had been tried and convicted of two counts of Murder I and received death on one of those counts. On direct appeal, COCA left the convictions intact, but vacated the death sentence and remanded for a re-sentencing. Five days before the re-sentencing trial, Jack reports that the DA called with some new information regarding a statement made by a co-defendant that was exculpatory of Jack's client. Jack used this newly discovered information to draft a post-conviction application. But,there is an interesting procedural twist here: since the death penalty was vacated and the case remanded for re-sentencing, is it a death penalty case for PC purposes (non-cap PCs are filed in the district court; capital PCs are filed directly in COCA)? Jack took the position that it was not a capital case since the death penalty had been vacated and filed the PC in the district court and it was granted by Judge Wall. So, client not only has death penalty vacated, he now has shot at a new trial. State is appealing, but an outstanding example of advocacy by Jack. I know of only two other times that a district court granted a PC in a capital case. Outstanding work.
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