DISTRICT ATTORNEY for the 20th Judicial District of Oklahoma

Serving Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall & Murray Counties

PRACTICE AREAS

Divisions

CRIMINAL LAW

Our office handles a variety of criminal cases, including drug offenses, theft, assault, and more. We are committed to ensuring justice for all members of our community, and strive to provide fair and just outcomes for every case.

VICTIM & WITNESS SERVICES

We understand that being a victim of crime can be a traumatic and difficult experience. Our office provides support and advocacy for victims of crime, including assistance with protective orders, victim impact statements, and referrals to community resources.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

We are committed to holding perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their actions. Our office provides advocacy and support for victims of domestic violence, and works closely with law enforcement and community partners to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

DA SUPERVISION

When a defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty, many times he/she is placed on DA supervision. Our office is tasked with supervising those defendants for a set period of time to ensure that he/she follows the rules outlined by the Court. Those defendants must check in during the first few days of every month to ensure compliance.

CHILD SUPPORT

Our mission at Child Support Services is to promote healthy families by establishing, monitoring, and enforcing reliable support while encouraging self-sufficiency and strengthening relationships.

We are an innovative team dedicated to improving the lives of children and families through our core values of caring, fairness, honesty, integrity, respect, and trust.

JUVENILE

Our office works to ensure that juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system receive appropriate services and support to address underlying issues that may have contributed to their involvement in the justice system. We work closely with community partners to provide diversion programs and other resources to help juveniles succeed. We also strive to protect juveniles who are deemed to be deprived due to the actions of their parents or legal guardians.

BOGUS CHECKS

Our office is committed to recovering money for retailers and citizens resulting from bogus or hot checks. It is the goal of our office to make the victim whole financially. We work with the check writers to set up payment plans to avoid the court process if able. As a last resort, we will proceed with criminal charges against those individuals.

ABOUT MELISSA

ABOUT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MELISSA HANDKE

Melissa Handke is the District Attorney for the 20th Judicial District, serving Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall & Murray Counties of the Great State of Oklahoma. She is the first female District Attorney for the 20th District, an accomplishment of which she is very proud. With years of experience in not only criminal law, but also civil law, Melissa is committed to ensuring justice for all members of the community. She has a passion for victim advocacy and works tirelessly to ensure that victims of crime receive the support and services they need to heal and move forward. She is dedicated to giving a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves. Melissa is proud to follow in the legendary footsteps of the District Attorneys who preceded her.

Melissa Handke

HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

The state legislature established the office of District Attorney during the 1965 session.
The first District Attorney election took place in 1966, and the newly elected DAs took office in January 1967.

The office of Justice of the Peace was abolished in Oklahoma in 1967.

The statutes concerning Justices of the Peace were repealed by the 1968 legislature, to take effect January 13, 1969.

After the creation of the office of District Attorney, the first person elected in the 20th Judicial District (Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall & Murray Counties) was Burke Mordy.

After the change in the judiciary that abolished the County and Justice of the Peace Courts and created the offices of Associate District Judge and Special Judge, the first to hold those two positions in Carter County were James Dillard and Earl Brown.

Additional trivia about those two positions:
Only six people have been Associate District Judge in Carter County - James Dillard, Earl Levally, Tom Walker, Lee Card, Thomas Baldwin, and Ryan Hunnicutt.

There have been eight Special Judges - Earl Brown, Luster Cook, Tom Walker, Mike Hisey, Bebe Bridges, Charles Tate, Thomas Baldwin, and Carson Brooks.

Only one person in Carter County has ever been Special Judge, Associate District Judge and District Judge - Tom Walker.