Bill LaFortune

William LaFortune (born August 23, 1957) is an American politician who has served as a district judge for Tulsa County, Oklahoma, since 2015. He previously served as the 37th Mayor of Tulsa from 2002 to 2006 and as the Tulsa County district attorney from 1995 to 1998.

Family and education LaFortune's grandfather, Joseph Aloysius LaFortune, was an oil executive and a noted philanthropist in Tulsa. His uncle, Robert J. LaFortune, was mayor of Tulsa from 1970 to 1978. He attended Cascia Hall Preparatory School, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Tulsa College of Law. and was elected to begin the role that December.

History in Tulsa Politics Bill LaFortune served as district attorney of Tulsa County, as a special judge for Tulsa County, and as Assistant Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. Running as a Republican, he was elected mayor in 2002, but he was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election on April 5, 2006 when he lost to his Democratic opponent, former Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and Tourism, Kathy Taylor.

Mayor, City of Tulsa, 2002-2006 While a partner at the prestigious Tulsa law firm of Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler and Dowdell, Tulsa's longtime Mayor Susan Savage announced she would be retiring at the end of her current term, thereby creating a vacancy in the Mayor's office in 2002. LaFortune, with a long career of public service and community involvement, ran for the office against several other contenders. Running as a Republican, he won decisively in both the primary and general elections.

Vision 2025 Despite the economic downturn, LaFortune was able to put together a county-wide coalition of elected officials, business leaders and everyday citizens to prepare a long overdue capital improvements plan. The result of this unprecedented effort was “Vision 2025”, a four-part $885 million ballot initiative which was passed overwhelmingly by Tulsa County voters in September 2003. LaFortune was the point person for the successful campaign. Over 34 job incentives and capital improvement projects were funded through Vision 2025, including significant new medical clinics at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and in Tulsa's under-served communities, a new engineering facility at Oklahoma State University's Tulsa Campus, a new administration building at Langston University's Tulsa Campus, books and updated technology for Tulsa's school children, and capital improvements at many Tulsa County smaller municipalities.

District Judge, 14th Judicial District, State of Oklahoma, 2015 – present Bill LaFortune was elected to a four-year term as District Judge for the 14th Judicial District of the State of Oklahoma in 2014. He ran unopposed for the office and succeeded Tom Gillert. He ran unopposed in the non-partisan race. He has also presided over approximately 60 felony jury trials, including trials of multiple defendants.

Legal career

Introduction

Bill LaFortune served as a licensed legal intern for the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office in the spring of 1983 during his third year of law school. Immediately after his graduation from the University of Tulsa College of Law, LaFortune was hired as a contracts administrator for Telex Computer Products, Inc. He was later promoted to Senior Contracts Administrator, acting as second in command of the contracts administration department that tripled in size during his tenure.

Assistant Attorney General After a brief stint working with his father in the oil and gas business, LaFortune was appointed as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma by newly elected Attorney General Robert H. Henry in 1987. Initially assigned to the office's civil division, he represented various state agencies, including the State Auditor and Inspector's office, the Department of Transportation, the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Board, the Oklahoma Military Department, and the Merit Protection Commission. His first dockets were handling felony preliminary hearing and arraignment dockets. He later was assigned to domestic order, mental health and juvenile dockets. His decisions included upholding the constitutionality of Oklahoma's new “stalking” laws.

Tulsa County District Attorney 1995 - 1998 While serving as a Special Judge, the untimely death of then District Attorney David Moss created a vacancy in that office. LaFortune applied for the position and in December 1995, he was appointed by then Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating as the Tulsa County District Attorney. As Tulsa County's chief law enforcement officer, LaFortune managed the largest “law firm” in Tulsa County, composed of over 80 persons. This included overseeing thousands of felony cases, as well as all civil litigation for county government.

LaFortune personally prosecuted violent crimes, including record-setting verdicts in sex crime and first-degree murder cases. Also, during his tenure as Tulsa County District Attorney, LaFortune created the first “Crimes Against Children” Division in office to focus the fight against child abuse in all forms. He also created an “Elder Abuse Task Force” to consolidate and coordinate agencies and resources to better focus, prevent and prosecute crimes against our senior citizens.

Partner, Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler and Dowdell In June 1998, LaFortune was offered, and accepted, a partnership at the prestigious Tulsa law firm of Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler and Dowdell.

Scott Allen Bolden trial

Scott Allen Bolden was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse by injury in the death of a 19-month-old toddler, the little daughter of his girlfriend at the time. The prosecution maintained that Bolden used unreasonable force upon the child, causing fatal subdural hemorrhaging, extensive retinal hemorrhaging and bruises all over her body.

Yvon Demesmin trial

LaFortune's child abuse jury trials also include the trial of Yvon Demesmin, a former school security guard, convicted of several counts of child sexual abuse. Demesmin had maintained at trial that the various sex acts he had engaged in with a young girl were acceptable in his native country of Haiti, although a prosecution witness, that was also a native Haitian, testified that the country does not condone sex with children. LaFortune sentenced Jones to 175 years in prison, to be served consecutively. Judge LaFortune sentenced Jennings to 115 consecutive years in prison. In sentencing Cato to more than 200 consecutive years in prison, LaFortune noted that Cato had consistently tried to minimize, justify or otherwise rationalize his actions against the boys, who were ages 7 to 17. Detectives had found 241 images containing child pornography on Hamilton's computer, including images of a girl who appeared to be 12 or younger wearing only high heel shoes and lying on a white rug.

“Alien Baby” case

Judge LaFortune accepted the plea of Candace Marie Stanley, who pleaded guilty to a child-neglect charge alleging she had exposed her newborn to Xanax, marijuana, methamphetamine, and/or heroin. Stanley was arrested after emergency responders found the newborn on a pile of trash in her apartment. Anna Marie Hyden and Kevin Lee Crawford were charged with child neglect and both entered guilty pleas. Prosecutors claimed that Hyden and Crawford had exposed the baby to methamphetamine, which along with their failure to seek medical care contributed to the baby dying January 16, 2016. Police described the shed as “deplorable” with no running water, no heat, no insulation and the only power coming from an extension cord running from a nearby home. The child had presented at Saint Francis Hospital weighing only 19 pounds and “severely dehydrated” and “extremely malnourished”. A jury convicted Castro-Huerta and LaFortune sentenced him to 35 years in prison as recommended by the jury. LaFortune followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced the convicted serial rapist to 365 consecutive years in prison. Nuckolls was convicted of Indecent Exposure and Sexual Battery and LaFortune sentenced him to 8 consecutive years in prison as recommended by the jury.

Rape of elderly woman in nursing home by nurse

Judge LaFortune presided over a case involving the rape of an 84-year-old woman with dementia at a Tulsa assisted living center. Stephen Craig Reed, who was a nurse at the center, pleaded guilty to the rape and LaFortune sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Notable DUI manslaughter cases Judge LaFortune has presided over numerous DUI fatality cases. Cantrell had run a red light while driving under the influence and crashed into a vehicle, killing two of its occupants and injuring 3 others. The investigation revealed that Wheeler rear-ended a 1920 Ford Model T while she was driving 65 mph and was still accelerating at impact. Her husband termed her death as “a murder, not an accident”. He had earlier denied Ashton's request for immunity under Oklahoma's “Stand Your Ground” law. LaFortune was affirmed on appeal by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in a published decision.

Gilcrease Expressway murder

Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trials of David Ruble and Travis Lozada, who were convicted of felony murder first-degree in the random slaying of a 14-year-old girl who was innocently traveling home with her family along the Gilcrease Expressway after a day of recreation at Keystone Lake. He sentenced Ruble to a life term plus 10 years and Lozada to life in prison without parole plus 10 years.

Papa John’s Pizza murder

Judge LaFortune presided over the trial of Frankie Jackson Jr. and the sentencing of his 2 co-defendants, Jermaine Savory and Damian Anderson. They were charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Papa John's truck driver while he was making a delivery and unloading his truck behind a Papa John's pizza restaurant in the early morning hours.

North Tulsa barber shop murder

Judge LaFortune presided over the trial of Dezmen “Dash” Smith, who was charged along with Chadrick Lamont “Fat Cat” Colbert in a gang-related shooting that killed an innocent barber while he was cutting hair and injured 3 customers, including a child. LaFortune sentenced Smith to life in prison for first-degree murder and Colbert, who testified at Smith's trial on behalf of the prosecution, to 15 years for accessory after the fact to murder and 3 counts of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, pursuant to a plea agreement with the state. LaFortune was affirmed on appeal in Smith's case.

James Edward “G-Baby” Knapper murder case

Judge LaFortune presided over the first-degree murder trial of James Edward “G-Baby” Knapper. A jury convicted Knapper of a gang-related daytime shooting and killing of a 16-year-old girl, who was an innocent bystander and the unintended target in what a prosecutor called a “gangland assassination”. The prosecutor argued that Knapper's intent was to kill a different person because of that person's membership in a rival gang. Prior to trial, LaFortune had denied Hopkin's request to dismiss the case for a violation of the Uniform, and that ruling was affirmed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in a published decision that made new Oklahoma law on the issue. Pursuant to the jury's sentencing recommendations, LaFortune sentenced Hopkins to 2 consecutive life-without-parole terms for the killing of the 19-year-old woman and their unborn child. Afterwards, his defense attorney filed a motion to quash and dismiss Major's case on April 12, 2016. LaFortune after a full hearing, denied the Motion to Dismiss. LaFortune was the judge for the trial of Stanley Vernon Majors, accused of killing his neighbor, Khalid Jabara, on August 12, 2016. A trial is still pending as to this charge as well as the previous charge.

Universal Aryan Brotherhood murder and assault case

Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Ronnie Dean Haskins, who was convicted of fatally stabbing a man in his home in 2013. Haskins was accused of involvement in the Universal Aryan Brotherhood, a “white only” prison-based criminal organization whose members engage in drug distribution, money laundering and acts of violence involving kidnapping, assault and arson throughout Oklahoma.

In another case with allegations relating to the Universal Aryan Brotherhood, Judge LaFortune presided over the jury trial of Jestin Tafolla, who was found guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, brass knuckles, of a black man during a road rage incident in East Tulsa in 2016. LaFortune followed the jury's recommendation in imposing a life sentence.

Fundraising event chair

He and his wife of 35 years, forensic psychologist Dr. Kathy LaFortune, have also chaired major fundraising events for Big Brothers and Sisters of Green Country, the then existing Tulsa Philharmonic and Junior Philharmonic.

Awards

More recently, LaFortune has served on the Tulsa World Community Advisory Board. He was honored in 2017 by the Indian Nations Council of Governments at its 50th-anniversary celebration with the “Robert J. LaFortune” award. The Tulsa Press Club also honored he and his wife as their “Headliners” for 2017, the first time that honor has been bestowed upon a married couple.

Tulsa County Bar Association Professionalism Committee and Board of Directors

LaFortune has also been active in local bar association activities, having served on the Tulsa County Bar Association Professionalism Committee and Board of Directors (elected by his peers).