IN THE NEWS
May 2, 2025
Jason May was found not guilty of all charges after a five-day jury trial in Carter County that began on April 28. The charges, which were presented by former Carter County Assistant District Attorney Jacobi Whatley, related to allegations made by former District 20 District Attorney Craig Ladd that May had filed false or forged documents in two separate cases between 2019 and 2022.
Ladd admitted during his testimony that he had submitted altered documents to a handwriting analyst as well as to the multi-county grand jury to secure the indictment against May. Ladd also admitted that he himself filed false or forged documents with the Carter County Court Clerk, but testified that his actions were not criminal in nature as he simply made a mistake.
Ladd also offered false testimony during the jury trial when he initially denied any knowledge of the existence of a key piece of evidence that helped establish May’s innocence. When May’s attorneys, Dan Pond and Matt Swain, confronted him with signed documents proving he was aware of said evidence in 2022, Ladd testified that his false testimony was yet another mistake.
At the conclusion of the evidence, the court properly instructed the jury that Ladd had made prior statements that were inconsistent with his testimony and that those statements could be used when determining his credibility.
It took the jury less than one hour to acquit May, who chose to take the stand as a witness, on all counts. After the verdict was read, the courtroom erupted in applause. May, who has not given any public statements regarding the allegations against him until now, wishes to thank the community for the overwhelming support that he has received.
Our entire staff remains dedicated to zealously defending the rights of our clients, and this experience has done nothing but strengthen that resolve.
June 28, 2024
Our office represented D.J. Long, who was named Carter County Sheriff after a recount ended in a tie. The recount should have resulted in Sheriff Long winning by one vote, but the Carter County Election Board illegally awarded a void ballot to former Sheriff Chris Bryant. We filed suit on behalf of Sheriff Long, but since he won the tie-breaker, we were able to dismiss the suit.
August 30, 2023
Our office received an anonymous tip from an Ardmore Police Department officer that their agency was unlawfully conspiring to arrest one of our clients for possessing a firearm. The informant provided us with an email confirming the information. Shortly after going public with this information, Ardmore Police Chief Cameron Arthur was placed on administrative leave and subsequently terminated. The Department has since acknowledged that our client can legally possess a firearm.
November 10, 2022
While meeting with clients in the Carter County Jail, Jason noticed what appeared to be a recording device installed in the attorney room. After going public with the finding, Carter County Sheriff Chris Bryant removed the device before OSBI could investigate and publicly admitted that the device was illegally installed in the room at the request of the Carter County District Attorney’s Office. In spite of the overwhelming evidence that law enforcement and prosecutors had been eavesdropping on confidential communications between attorneys and their clients, no charges were ever filed against Sheriff Bryant, District Attorney Craig Ladd, or any other public official.
September 29, 2021
After discovering that the Chickasaw Nation Tribal Prosecutor’s Office was continuing to prosecute medical marijuana holders for possession of marijuana, our office went public with the information. After our office exposed that multiple members of the Chickasaw legislature owned interests in medical marijuana grows, which would constitute a felony offense under the Chickasaw Code, the Chief Counsel of the Chickasaw Nation released a statement confirming that a new policy had been adopted preventing the tribal prosecutors office from charging anyone with an offense that would be legal under state law.
September 3, 2019
While at a docket for the Ardmore Municipal Court, Jason observed city judge Julie Austin illegally requiring payment of fines and costs in full prior to releasing inmates from custody. After posting video of the incident, the city announced that they have stopped the policy of incarcerating individuals based on their inability to pay fines and costs in full. Judge Austin remained in office, but the video has since been used in judicial training to demonstrate to newly-elected judges how to avoid violating an individual’s civil rights through debt collection.
September 28, 2016
Our office represented Becky Wright, who was charged with embezzlement for allegedly making unauthorized photocopies in her capacity as a deputy Carter County clerk. Ms. Wright was targeted by the elected County Clerk, Cynthia Harmon, after Ms. Wright informed the FBI that Ms. Harmon had forged a signature on a deed in order to steal land from an elderly man. Our office successfully sued Ms. Harmon and obtained a judgment in excess of $250,000 after she admitted to forging the deed. District Attorney Craig Ladd recused from the criminal investigation, citing his close personal friendship with Ms. Harmon. Ms. Harmon was never charged and our office secured a dismissal and expungement of the charges against Ms. Wright after a protracted legal battle. Ms. Wright later successfully sued the county for wrongful termination.
February 3, 2015
After hiring Carter County District Judge Dennis Morris’ bailiff, Lora Stevens, to serve as our office manager, multiple courthouse employees inform Jason that they overheard Judge Morris stating that all of our clients would be sentenced to prison as retaliation for hiring his bailiff. Although we initially assumed Judge Morris’ comments were not sincere, he subsequently sentenced Michael Martin, a young man with no prior convictions, to two years in prison for simple possession of a controlled dangerous substance. After filing a Writ of Mandamus to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Mr. Martin’s sentence was vacated and he was resentenced to deferred probation.
February 2, 2014
After learning that Carter County District Judge Dennis Morris was unlawfully requiring indigent defendants to pay money to the court in order to receive a court appointed attorney, our office filed a Writ of Mandamus with the Oklahoma Supreme Court asking them to put a stop to the practice. The court accepted jurisdiction and required Judge Morris to file a response. Judge Morris acknowledged that the practice was unlawful and adopted new court rules abandoning the policy.