Jaye Mendros
Jaye Mendros
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma (OK)
Criminal Defense
Profile
Jaye Mendros graduated in 1994 from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in the Top 10% of her class. She clerked at the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, then worked at the Oklahoma County Public Defender's Office (general felony division), and the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (Innocence Project and Capital Trial Unit). She has been in private practice since 2002, devoting her energy to criminal and constitutional law. Ms. Mendros has been successful in defending Murder cases both at jury trial and on appeal, and also consults on cold murder cases to assist victims' families secure accuracy, justice and some closure in the suspicious and/or wrongful deaths of their loved ones. She has been an outspoken critic of the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office on behalf of the Turner Family and several other families battling with this Agency. She worked with the Oklahoma State legislature and the Governor's legal staff to draft The Chanda Turner Reform Act, which passed both the Senate and the House floors unanimously in 2011. This new law goes into effect Nov. 1, and gives Oklahoma families a means to appeal and correct erroneous death certificates. Ms. Mendros has also succesfully battled unconstitutional legistlation that infringed on the rights of our citizenry. She was instrumental in overturning Oklahoma's ban against the art of tattooing in 2006 on First and Fourteenth Amendment grounds, when Oklahoma held the dubious distinction of being the last State in the Union to criminalize this art form. Additionally, Ms. Mendros has successfully represented Oklahoma County District Judges on appeal in Writs filed against their rulings by the State of Oklahoma. For more information on Ms. Mendros, go to www.jayemendros.com.
Selected To
Oklahoma Super Lawyers 2011
Oklahoma Super Lawyers 2010
Oklahoma Super Lawyers 2009
Oklahoma Super Lawyers 2008
Oklahoma Super Lawyers 2007
Oklahoma Super Lawyers 2006
Top Lists
About Jaye Mendros
Admitted: 1994, Oklahoma
Professional Webpage: www.jayemendros.com/about.html
Honors and Awards:
- Michael Salem Civil Rights Award, William Grimes Civil Libertarian Award, Note Editor of Oklahoma Law Review (1993-94), Madison's Who's Who of Business and Professional Executives (2006-07).
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Member: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association, Oklahoma County Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association, Oklahoma Bar Association.
Pro bono/Community Service:
- Youth Girls Basketball Coach (various Okc Metro leagues)
Scholarly Lectures and Writings:
- Author: Morgan v. Illinois Takes a Step Out of Eliminating Hanging Juries in Capital Cases: Oklahoma Law Review (1994).
Verdicts and Settlements:
- October 1996: First Degree Murder ACQUITTAL (State v. Wauqua; CF-95-7096). February 1996: ACQUITTAL in Second Degree Burglarly case (State v. Tecumseh; CF-94-8699). September 2001: Life After Death Verdict in Retrial of Death Penalty Murder Case (State v. Childress). May 2006: Dismissal of all criminal cases pending against Oklahoma County Tattoo Artists. May 2007: Awarded Permanent Injunction against State enforcement of unconstitutional tattoo regulations (CJ-07-988). May 2007 secured REVERSAL FOR NEW TRIAL in Manslaughter case (White v. State; F-05-110). June 2008 AQUITTAL in First Degree Murder case (State v. Lunceford; CF-07-1542). October 2008 secured REVERSAL FOR NEW TRIAL on appeal in Second Degree Murder case (Morphew v. State; F-2007-201). October 2008 successfully defended the Honorable Jerry D. Bass on appeal against State's challenge to Court's ruling (State v. Bass; PR-2008-575); June 2010 successfully defended the vacation of a fraudulent adoption on constitutional grounds (In the Matter of the Adoption of T.C.P., A Minor Child, Case No. 107,360). May 2011: helped draft SB250, The Chanda Turner Reform Act, giving Oklahoma families a means to appeal incorrect death certificates issued by the Medical Examiner's Office.
Representative Clients:
- Joe and Donna Turner, re: the wrongful death of their daughter, Chanda Turner
- The Honorable Jerry D. Bass.
- A Different Image Tattoo Studio; Oklahoma Association of Body Art.
Other Outstanding Achievements:
- State v. Lunceford CF-2007-1542 (Acquittal of first degree murder); White v. State F-2005-110 (DUI Manslaughter conviction overturned on appeal); Garcia et al v. Oklahoma State Health Department CJ-2007-998 (successful in striking as unconstitutional unreasonable regulations imposed upon tattoo artists after legalization); Garcia et al v. Hon. Russell D. Hall, PR-2006-199 (2006) (instrumental in overturning Oklahoma's criminal ban against the art of tattooing); Twin Hills Golf and Country Club v. Town of Forrest Park, SD-102265 (2005) (client's constitutional challenge to ordinance upheld); U.S. v. Rice, 358 F.3d 1268 (10th Cir. 2004) (reversed in part on federal sentencing guidelines issue); Childress v. State, MA-2001-188; F-2001-1167 (after death sentence reversed, life-after-death sentence received at new trial); Romano v. State, 1995 OK CR 74, 909 P.2d 92.; State v. Wauqua CF-1995-7096 (Acquittal of first degree murder); State v. Tecumseh CF-1994-8699 (Acquittal of Burglary II).
Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.
