Oakland McCulloch

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Charge:	Contempt of Court
Sentence:	1 year probation and $500 fine
Years Imprisoned:	0.01
Year Crime:	2014
Year Convicted:	2014
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	North Carolina
County or Region of Crime:	Cumberland
City of Crime:	Fayetteville
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Oakland McCulloch was wrongly convicted twice in 2014 of contempt of court for allegedly lying during a bail hearing for another person on January 14, 2014 in the Cumberland County District Court, in Fayetville, North Carolina. McCulloch was a first lieutenant at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and his prosecution was based on his assertion during a bail hearing for enlisted soldier, David Cook, who had been arrested in a domestic violence case, that he was a leader in Cook's unit, that Cook was "a good soldier" and that Cook's chain-of-command was aware of the situation and supportive of him. Based on McCulloch's statements, Judge Toni King released Cook under McCulloch's supervision without paying bail. Cumberland County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Gilully, who had opposed Cook's release, contacted the Army and discovered that McCulloch was not in Cook's chain-of-command or his unit. McCulloch was charged with contempt of court for his conduct. After a hearing during which McCulloch testified in his defense, Judge King found McCulloch guilty on April 28, 2014, and sentenced him to 30 days in jail. McCulloch served one day of his sentence before he was released pending the outcome of his appeal. After a de novo bench trial Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons found him guilty on August 8, 2014, and sentenced him to a suspended 30 day jail sentenced, 1 year of unsupervised probation, and payment of a $500 fine. McCulloch gave an oral notice of appeal after his sentencing. On January 5, 2016 the North Carolina Court of Appealed unanimously reversed McCulloch's conviction on the basis Judge Ammons finding of guilt was fatally defective as a matter of law because he had failed to find McCulloch guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt.""
Conviction Caused By:	Judge failed to find McCulloch guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Innocence Proved By:	"On January 5, 2016 the North Carolina Court of Appealed unanimously reversed McCulloch's conviction on the basis Judge Ammons' finding of guilt was fatally defective as a matter of law because he had failed to find McCulloch guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt.""
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	26
Age When Released:	26
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"State of North Carolina v. Oakland McCulloch, No. COA15-290 (North Carolina Ct. of Appeals, 1-5-2016) (Unpublished opinion) (Reversing conviction based on judge's failure to find McCulloch guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.)"
Information Location 1:	https://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=2&pdf=33271
Information Source 2:	"For want of four words, an ex-soldier's conviction is tossed, By Paul Woolverton (Staff writer), Fay Observer (Fayetteville, NC), January 15, 2016"
Information Location 2:	http://www.fayobserver.com/news/crime_courts/for-want-of-four-words-contempt-of-court-conviction-overturned/article_660a3c79-bf7c-57a7-a25d-5f47168decf1.html
Information Source 3:
Information Location 3:
Information Source 4:
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
Book About Case:
Book Information:
Book About Case (2):
Book Information (2):
Movie About Case:
Comments About Case:

Go to Database Search Page

Go to Database Index Page

Oakland McCulloch

Charge:

Contempt of Court

Sentence:

1 year probation and $500 fine

Years Imprisoned:

0.01

Year Crime:

2014

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

North Carolina

County or Region of Crime:

Cumberland

City of Crime:

Fayetteville

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Judge failed to find McCulloch guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Innocence Proved By:

"On January 5, 2016 the North Carolina Court of Appealed unanimously reversed McCulloch's conviction on the basis Judge Ammons' finding of guilt was fatally defective as a matter of law because he had failed to find McCulloch guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt.""

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

26

Age When Released:

26

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"State of North Carolina v. Oakland McCulloch, No. COA15-290 (North Carolina Ct. of Appeals, 1-5-2016) (Unpublished opinion) (Reversing conviction based on judge's failure to find McCulloch guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.)"

Information Location 1:

https://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=2&pdf=33271

Information Source 2:

"For want of four words, an ex-soldier's conviction is tossed, By Paul Woolverton (Staff writer), Fay Observer (Fayetteville, NC), January 15, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://www.fayobserver.com/news/crime_courts/for-want-of-four-words-contempt-of-court-conviction-overturned/article_660a3c79-bf7c-57a7-a25d-5f47168decf1.html

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: