My name is Cynthia A. Viol and I am an experienced and aggressive trial lawyer. If the State is accusing you of a sex crime, you are in serious trouble. The stakes are very high. The defense of sex crimes cases requires a defense attorney with the specialized experience, knowledge, and desire to aggressively fight for your rights, your life, and justice.
The simple truth is that very few criminal defense lawyers have the necessary trial experience or specialized knowledge needed to defend against an accusation of sexual misconduct. Be sure the lawyer you hire has handled many sex crimes cases. And most important--make sure the lawyer you hire is an experienced trial lawyer. Plea-bargaining in sex crimes cases is a very difficult business. Most of the plea bargain recommendations the State offers involve prison time--substantial prison time. And, under Oklahoma law, eighty-five (85%) percent of that sentence must be served before the inmate will be considered for parole or be allowed to accrue "good time" credits. Even if the lawyer is able to negotiate a probated sentence, the citizen accused will be a "registered sex offender" for many, many years--maybe for life. It is a taint which can never be erased. The stakes are very high indeed.
I have the jury trial experience, specialized knowledge and the desire to fight and defend those accused of sex crimes. I have been a lawyer for twenty-three (23) years. I am licensed to practice law in Oklahoma and Texas. I have been a criminal defense lawyer exclusively for the past twenty (20) years and during that time have tried ninety-six (96) jury trials--including twenty-one (21) sex crimes trials and three (3) death penalty trials.
Most of my career was spent in the public sector--defending indigent defendants in Dallas and Tarrant Counties (Texas), Texas prison inmates accused of committing felonies in prison, and Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (2000 - 2007).
For the past six (6) years I have focused on the difficult issues involved in the defense of those accused of sex crimes. Since entering the private practice of law in October 2007, I have tried two (2) sex crimes cases to Oklahoma juries. Both clients were found not guilty and are now home with their families. I have been invited to speak at many legal seminars to share with other lawyers what I have learned about defending these most difficult of criminal cases.
I am a warrior child of the military--born and bred--the oldest of seven children. My father taught us that the defense of our Constitutional rights was a cause worth fighting--and dying--for. I have taken that lesson to heart. It is the primary reason I have spent my legal career fighting for, and defending the rights of, those who the State seeks to deprive of their liberty or even their very life.
In 1999, I was fortunate enought to attend Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyer's College in Dubois, Wyoming. I went to Wyoming to become the very best trial lawyer I could be. For my clients and for myself. It was an intensive five (5) week course. I learned many valuable lessons but the most important lesson I learned was that, to be a true advocate for my clients, I must become an unrelenting "Warrior for Justice." I strive every day to be worthy of that name. For my clients. For myself. For justice.
Please Call : (405) 528-1285
Who I Am
Area of Practice: 100% Criminal Defense.
Honors & Awards: 2007 "Barry Albert Award for Excellence in Advocacy," OCCDLA; 1990 "Public Defender of the Year Award," Dallas County Public Defender's Office.
Published Works: "Pretrial & Trial Motions in Child Sex Abuse Cases," The Gauntlet, OCDLA, Spring 2007.
Classes & Seminars (CLE) Taught: "Pre-trial and Trial Motions in Child Sex Abuse Cases," OBA, 2006; "Dealing with Medical Testimony in Child Sex Cases," OCCDLA, 2007;"Devolving Standards of Decency: Death Penalty for Non-Homicide Sex Offenses," OCDLA, 2007; "Pre-Trial & Trial Motions" and "Voir Dire: The Marriage of Colorado and Wyoming (with David Smith), The Sex Crime Accusation--Defending Your Client's Life, OCDLA/OCCDLA, 2008; "Part I: The Art of Voir Dire," The Art of the Jury Trial, OCCDLA, 2008; "Incorporating Capital Defense Tools Into Your Regular Criminal Practice," OCDLA, 2009.
Secretary, Oklahoma County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 2002-2007, 2009.
Past President, Oklahoma County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 2008.
Member, Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association & National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Education: J.D., Texas Tech School of Law, Lubbock, Texas, 1986; B.A. with Honors, History, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 1982.
Born: Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, 1952.