A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable by the state. While criminal law aims to punish individuals who commit crimes, tort law aims to compensate individuals who suffer harm as a result of the actions of others. Some wrongful acts, such as assault and battery, can result in both a civil lawsuit and a criminal prosecution in countries where the civil and criminal legal systems are separate. Tort law may also be contrasted with contract law, which provides civil remedies after breach of a duty that arises from a contract. Obligations in both tort and criminal law are more fundamental and are imposed regardless of whether the parties have a contract.
Tom Colbert is a former Associate Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Court's District 6 seat in 2004, by Governor Brad Henry, becoming the first African-American to serve on the court. On January 4, 2013, he was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and served In that post until January 2015. After completing his two-year term as Chief Justice, he resumed his previous position on the court as Associate Justice representing the 6th Judicial District. On January 19, 2021, Colbert’s retirement was announced by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, effective February 1 of the same year.
The Oklahoma Court System is the judicial system for the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Based in Oklahoma City, the court system is a unified state court system that functions under the Chief Justice of Oklahoma who is its administrator-in-chief.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government.
In the case of Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al. v. Tenenbaum, record label Sony BMG, along with Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic Records, Arista Records, and UMG Recordings, accused Joel Tenenbaum of illegally downloading and sharing files in violation of U.S. copyright law. It was only the second file-sharing case to go to verdict in the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) anti-downloading litigation campaign. After the judge entered a finding of liability, a jury assessed damages of $675,000, which the judge reduced to $67,500 on constitutional grounds, rather than through remittitur.
Deborah Barnes is a judge at the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma. She was appointed by Governor Brad Henry and her retention date was July 9, 2008. She has since won two retention votes in 2010 and 2014, and her next retention vote is scheduled for January 10, 2021.
E. Bay Mitchell, III is a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma. He represents District 6, Office 1. Governor Frank Keating appointed him to this position in 2002. and he was retained by voters in 2004, in 2006, and 2012. He was up for another retention election in 2018, at the end of his 6-year term.
Carol M. Hansen was a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma. Educated at the Oklahoma City University of Law after raising five children, she became a municipal judge in 1993. She was appointed marshal for the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1984, then appointed as a justice of the Oklahoma Court of Appeals in 1985. She became the first woman to serve as Chief Judge in any Oklahoma appellate court. She resigned from the court in 2012, because health problems were causing her to lose her eyesight.
Keith Rapp (1934-2022) was an Oklahoma attorney who served as judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma, from 1984 to 2022. A native of Ohio, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Tulsa School of Law.
John Fischer is a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma.
Jerry L. Goodman was born April 17, 1939, in Mangum, Oklahoma. He was a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, an intermediate appellate court in the state of Oklahoma, for twenty-five years. Appointed to the court by Governor David Walters on July 26, 1994, Goodman was retained by voters in 1996, 2002, and 2008. On November 4, 2014, voters returned him for a full term ending January 10, 2021, with a favorable vote of 60.4 percent. Judge Goodman was elected chief judge of the court for a one-year term in 2016.
Linda Morrissey is a Tulsa County district judge. During her time as a judge, Morrissey has influenced the addition of the first courtroom in Tulsa County that dealt strictly with child support, as well as the Families in Transition Plan that removes disputing families from the courtroom and gives them an audience with mediators. In 2003, Morrissey was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame for her contributions to the Tulsa County judicial system.
Barbara Cook Green Swinton is a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. She was appointed to the appellate court by Governor Mary Fallin on September 14, 2016, to replace Judge Bill Hetherington, who retired from District Four, Office One on September 2, 2016. Prior to her appointment, Judge Swinton served as district court judge for the 7th Judicial District, beginning in 2002.
Robert D. Bell was born and raised in Norman, Oklahoma. He earned two law degrees, one in his home state and the second in North Carolina. He then spent 13 years in private practice in his hometown while also serving as a municipal judge in 5 towns and cities of Oklahoma. First appointed a judge in 1994, he was then the youngest sitting judge of any kind in the state. In 2005, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, a position he still holds to this after winning votes on retention in 2006, 2012 and 2018.
Kenneth L. Buettner is a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals.
P. Thomas (Tom) Thornbrugh is a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. He was born in Garnett, Kansas. He graduated in 1968 from Emporia State University with a B. A. in speech, then enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, then went to Vietnam, where he served with the 1st ARVN Division, and the 1st Signal Brigade at Khe Sanh during the 1971 Laotion invasion. He was honored with the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster for his actions at Khe Sanh. He received an honorable discharge in 1971, and returned to the United States.
Dana Lynn Kuehn is an American attorney and judge from Tulsa, Oklahoma who has served on the Supreme Court of Oklahoma since 2021; she was appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt on July 26, 2021. Kuehn had previously been a Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Judge after her appointment by the Governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin on October 2, 2017. Kuehn is the first woman to serve on both of the state's high courts, the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
Carlene Clancy Smith is a retired judge from Oklahoma. Her last position was as a justice of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA). She was appointed on September 13, 2010 by Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice James E. Edmondson to replace the recently-retired Justice Charles Chapel. She retired on June 17, 2017. She served as the presiding judge of the court for a two-year term starting on January 1, 2015.
Stacie Hixon is an American attorney and jurist serving as a judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. Governor Kevin Stitt appointed her on March 10, 2020 to replace Jerry Goodman.
Charles A. Johnson is a former judge of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, serving from 1989 to 2014.
