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Our Office
620 North Robinson, Suite 203
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102-1811
P: 405-239-2726 | 405-239-2454
F: 405-605-2284
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102-1811
P: 405-239-2726 | 405-239-2454
F: 405-605-2284
Attorney Profile
James T. Rowan
Member
Email: Contact | Phone: 405-239-2726 / 405-239-2454 | Fax: 405-605-2284
James Rowan was born in Oklahoma City May 25,1944. He graduated from Norman High School in 1962. After attending Kentucky University and Oklahoma University he graduated from Kansas State University with a B.A. in History. He volunteered for the Army in 1967 and served two years in the infantry before enrolling at O.U. Law School in 1969.
After graduation from law school in 1972, Mr. Rowan was an associate in the Law firm of Reed and Hurst in Sulphur, Oklahoma. In 1974 he received a Direct Commission in the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps. His assignments included the 82nd Airborne Division at Fayetteville, North Carolina and the Defense Language School in Monterey, California to learn German before being stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany for three years.
In 1982, Mr. Rowan joined the Oklahoma County Public Defenders office. From 1984 to 1986, Mr. Rowan was associated with B.J. Cooper in a civil litigation firm. In 1986 Mr. Rowan rejoined the Oklahoma County Public Defenders office where he served until 1992 when he joined the Capital Trial Division of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System as a trial attorney. Over the course of his career James Rowan has been lead counsel in forty capital murder trials.
Mr. Rowan has defended approximately one hundred and thirty felony jury trials. From September of 1986 to September of 1992, Mr. Rowan defended seventy-one felony jury trials with a record of twenty-eight acquittals, twelve hung juries, and thirty-one convictions.
In 1998 Mr. Rowan was awarded the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System's. Award of Capital Trial Lawyer of the Year for successfully defending Patricia Jones, Alexis Perryman and Thomas Loveless. Each defendant avoided the death penalty.
In 2001, Mr. Rowan successfully defended Harley McKelvey in Caddo County. Two of Harley McKelvey's fingerprints in blood were discovered on a baseball bat. The man had been beaten to death with a baseball bat found nearby. Mr. McKelvey was acquitted.
In 2002, Mr. Rowan was awarded the Lord Thomas Erskine Award by the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in recognition of Mr. Rowan's courageous advocacy over the span of his career.
In 2008 Mr. Rowan teamed with Attorney Richard Anderson to defend Clayton Taylor against the charges of First Degree Murder, Rape by instrumentation and Kidnapping. The jury found Mr. Taylor not guilty on all counts.
In 2008 Theresa Hernandez was released from the Penitentiary and her case was modified from a ten year sentence to a suspended sentence. Theresa had originally been charged with first degree murder because her baby she was carrying was still born with methamphetamine in his system. Through a long course of negotiation the charge was amended to second degree murder and Theresa was sentenced to serve ten years in the penitentiary. After a year the sentence was modified to a ten year suspended sentence. Theresa has a new baby and is living happily on a farm.
Mr. Rowan is married and has two children. His wife Sherry Rowan holds PhD in Education and his principle of Harding Fine Arts Academy a charter high school. His daughter Sarah is a physician in Denver, Colorado and his son Dan is a lawyer in Portland, Oregon.
Mr. Rowan is past chairman of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and is the President of the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee which will become Voice on February 12, 2012.
Awards:
Contact an experienced Oklahoma lawyer you can trust
For experienced legal representation and strong advocacy, call 405-239-2726 or contact James T. Rowan online to schedule your free initial consultation.
Member
Email: Contact | Phone: 405-239-2726 / 405-239-2454 | Fax: 405-605-2284
James Rowan was born in Oklahoma City May 25,1944. He graduated from Norman High School in 1962. After attending Kentucky University and Oklahoma University he graduated from Kansas State University with a B.A. in History. He volunteered for the Army in 1967 and served two years in the infantry before enrolling at O.U. Law School in 1969.
After graduation from law school in 1972, Mr. Rowan was an associate in the Law firm of Reed and Hurst in Sulphur, Oklahoma. In 1974 he received a Direct Commission in the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps. His assignments included the 82nd Airborne Division at Fayetteville, North Carolina and the Defense Language School in Monterey, California to learn German before being stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany for three years.
In 1982, Mr. Rowan joined the Oklahoma County Public Defenders office. From 1984 to 1986, Mr. Rowan was associated with B.J. Cooper in a civil litigation firm. In 1986 Mr. Rowan rejoined the Oklahoma County Public Defenders office where he served until 1992 when he joined the Capital Trial Division of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System as a trial attorney. Over the course of his career James Rowan has been lead counsel in forty capital murder trials.
Mr. Rowan has defended approximately one hundred and thirty felony jury trials. From September of 1986 to September of 1992, Mr. Rowan defended seventy-one felony jury trials with a record of twenty-eight acquittals, twelve hung juries, and thirty-one convictions.
In 1998 Mr. Rowan was awarded the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System's. Award of Capital Trial Lawyer of the Year for successfully defending Patricia Jones, Alexis Perryman and Thomas Loveless. Each defendant avoided the death penalty.
In 2001, Mr. Rowan successfully defended Harley McKelvey in Caddo County. Two of Harley McKelvey's fingerprints in blood were discovered on a baseball bat. The man had been beaten to death with a baseball bat found nearby. Mr. McKelvey was acquitted.
In 2002, Mr. Rowan was awarded the Lord Thomas Erskine Award by the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in recognition of Mr. Rowan's courageous advocacy over the span of his career.
In 2008 Mr. Rowan teamed with Attorney Richard Anderson to defend Clayton Taylor against the charges of First Degree Murder, Rape by instrumentation and Kidnapping. The jury found Mr. Taylor not guilty on all counts.
In 2008 Theresa Hernandez was released from the Penitentiary and her case was modified from a ten year sentence to a suspended sentence. Theresa had originally been charged with first degree murder because her baby she was carrying was still born with methamphetamine in his system. Through a long course of negotiation the charge was amended to second degree murder and Theresa was sentenced to serve ten years in the penitentiary. After a year the sentence was modified to a ten year suspended sentence. Theresa has a new baby and is living happily on a farm.
Mr. Rowan is married and has two children. His wife Sherry Rowan holds PhD in Education and his principle of Harding Fine Arts Academy a charter high school. His daughter Sarah is a physician in Denver, Colorado and his son Dan is a lawyer in Portland, Oregon.
Mr. Rowan is past chairman of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and is the President of the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee which will become Voice on February 12, 2012.
Awards:
- Phil Wall; Abolitionist of the Year — April 12, 2008
Awarded by the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty - Attorney of the Year — 1998
Capital Trial Division; Oklahoma Indigent Defense System - Lord Erskine Award for Courageous Advocacy awarded by the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in recognition of remarkable success rate in Capital Murder Trials. (42 cases tried only eight death penalty verdicts.) — 2002
Contact an experienced Oklahoma lawyer you can trust
For experienced legal representation and strong advocacy, call 405-239-2726 or contact James T. Rowan online to schedule your free initial consultation.
James T. Rowan serves clients throughout Oklahoma.
