Practice areas: General Litigation, Business Litigation, Criminal Defense; view more
Licensed in Oklahoma since: 2003
Education: The University of Tulsa College of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2025 Norwood.Law
1601 S Main StSuite 300
Tulsa, OK 74119 Phone: 918-582-6464 Email: Joseph Norwood Visit website
Details 
Mr. Norwood is a trial and litigation lawyer specializing in results. He has secured multiple appellate victories for his clients and jury tried and bench tried criminal and civil cases in local, state and federal courts in Oklahoma. Among his most noted victories are: proving the innocence of three clients who were wrongfully convicted of murder and rape and imprisoned for 28, 34 and 48 years; persuading the Oklahoma Supreme Court to unanimously find a tort reform statute unconstitutional that deprived Mr. Norwood’s automobile-negligence-victim client of her ability to recover for pain and suffering in court, thereby dramatically changing policy in Oklahoma in favor of injury victims, and; obtaining a favorable published opinion for his business-man client in a negotiable instrument wrongful dishonor/defamation case from the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals declaring that the Oklahoma constitution protects Oklahomans from waiving their right to jury trials through contract. Mr. Norwood and his firm bring this level of success to his clients in business law, personal injury, probate, wills and trusts, family law, civil rights and criminal defense matters.
Practice areas
General Litigation, Business Litigation, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Civil Litigation: Plaintiff, Family LawFirst Admitted: 2003, Oklahoma
Professional Webpage: https://norwoodlegal.com/our-attorneys/
Bar / Professional Activity
- Recipient of the Golden Rule Award from the Tulsa County Bar Association for the first quarter of 2024., 2024
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Mr. Norwood was able to obtain a finding of innocence for a Norwood.Law client who was wrongfully convicted of rape and robbery in 1987. This finding of innocence qualifies Norwood.Law's client for compensation under Oklahoma's governmental tort claims act and will be the first person to recover under the tort claims act for a finding of innocence under recently raised damages., 2025
- Mr. Norwood was able to obtain a 4 1/2 million dollar settlement for a Norwood.Law client who served 28 years in prison for a murder he was found innocent of., 2025
- Mr. Norwood was able to obtain a $15 million settlement for two Norwood.Law clients who had been wrongfully convicted in 1995 of murder and wrongfully serve 22 years in prison., 2025
- After having had secured an exoneration for a Norwood.Law client who was wrongful convicted of murder in 1975, Mr. Norwood filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of his wrongfully convicted client and secured a 7 1/2 million dollar settlement., 2024
- In representing a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1975, Mr. Norwood was able to secure a vacated conviction, dismissal of the murder charge with prejudice and his client was found innocent by clear and convincing evidence. Mr. Norwood's client holds the ignominious distinction of the longest serving wrongful conviction in U.S. history. Mr. Norwood and his client are now seeking compensation from those who wrongfully convicted him. https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/21/us/glynn-simmons-declared-innocent-oklahoma/index.html , 2023
- Mr. Norwood co-counsled with the Innocence Project and Barry Scheck a man who was wrongfully convicted of rape in 1988 and exonerated 2023 based on DNA evidence. Mr. Norwood and his client are now pursuing compensation for his wrongful conviction. https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/man-exonerated-in-ada-after-serving-35-years, 2023
- When representing a man accused of murder in the first-degree Mr. Norwood was able to secure a jury verdict of not guilty on the first-degree murder charge but Mr. Norwood’s client was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years. The prosecutor offered a plea agreement for 30 years on a murder in the second degree, which carries a minimum of 85%. A conviction on murder in the first degree carries life, which is calculated as 45 years at a minimum of 85% to serve, or life without parole. By securing a jury verdict of 20 years on second degree murder Mr. Norwood was able to save his client 10 or more years in prison. Tulsa County Case No. No. CF-2020-4028. https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/bixby-man-accused-of-accelerating-into-man-in-tulsa-parking-lot-is-charged-with-murder/article_52718b2a-f888-11ea-961c-ff36fe397c62.html, 2022
- When representing a family who had their son shot and killed by a local police officer Mr. Norwood and co-counsel were able to secure a settlement that was one of the largest excessive force settlements ever in the jurisdiction. Northern District of Oklahoma Case No. 18-cv-491, 2022
- In representing a man accused of shooting with intent to kill Mr. Norwood and co-counsel were able to secure a not guilty jury verdict. Tulsa County Case No. CF-2019-3829, 2021
- When representing a car wreck negligence victim who was severely injured by an illegal immigrant construction worker who was hauling equipment for a construction company he worked for, as many lawyer do, Mr. Norwood encountered a trial judge who made an extremely misguided ruling in Mr. Norwood’s client’s case and dismissed the case because the Court found the illegal immigrant construction worker was not within the scope of his employment with the construction company when the auto collision occurred. Mr. Norwood appealed the dismissal and the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals unanimously reversed the trial courts dismissal and remanded the case back to the trial court for a jury trial. https://www.dropbox.com/s/76jwegmbt22wh94/opinion%20reversing%20and%20remanding.pdf?dl=0, 2021
- In representing a businessman who had cashier’s checks wrongfully dishonored and who was defamed by Bank of America, Mr. Norwood was able to persuade the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals to rule for the first time that Oklahoma residents cannot have their right to a jury trial deprived by contract. This case dealt with a jury trial waiver in a bank deposit agreement but due to this ruling all waivers of jury trials in a contract are unlawful and not enforceable. Home Vest Capital v. Retirement Application Services, 2020 OK CIV APP 15, 466 P.3d 1 https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=486805, 2020
- In representing a man wrongfully convicted of murder Mr. Norwood was able to prove his client’s innocence in a post-conviction proceeding, securing Mr. Norwood’s client’s freedom after 28 years of wrongful incarceration. Mr. Norwood is now representing his client in a civil rights law suit against the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma who deprived his client of his constitutional rights. https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/i-cant-hold-no-grudge-lifes-too-short-corey-atchison-found-actually-innocent-after-1991/article_f618943c-270d-5aa4-8882-f8a60a643c29.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share, 2019
- When representing a man charged with murder Mr. Norwood was able to secure a verdict from a jury that saved his client 25 years of incarceration over what the charge carried and what the prosecutor offered as a plea deal. Mr. Norwood’s client was found not guilty of two different theories of murder in the second degree, not guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and was convicted of the lesser included charge of assault and battery. Individuals convicted of assault and battery generally do about one third of their sentence and those convicted of murder are required to do at least 85% of their sentence. This reduction resulted in Mr. Norwood’s client doing 25 years less prison time than what the prosecutors were going for. https://ktul.com/news/local/da-tulsa-man-sentenced-to-17-years-for-assault-and-battery-after-victim-dies, 2019
- Mr. Norwood represented a private investigator whose insurance company refused to cover a claim the investigator made with his business insurance that he was sued by a person who was being investigated because the investigator placing a GPS unit on the subject’s car. After successfully getting the suit filed by the subject of the investigation dismissed, Mr. Norwood turned around and sued the private investigator’s insurance company for bad faith and breach of contract for refusing to defend the lawsuit against the private investigator. Mr. Norwood was able to secure a very favorable settlement for the private investigator from his insurance company for refusing to handle the claim. Tulsa County Case No. CJ-15-3822, 2015
- In representing a client injured in an automobile collision Mr. Norwood persuaded the Oklahoma Supreme Court to unanimously find a statute unconstitutional. The so called “no pay, no play” statute was part of Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin’s tort reform campaign platform when she ran for Governor. The “no pay, no play” tort reform statute deprived victims of car wreck negligence from recovering for pain and suffering damages in court if they did not have auto insurance at the time they were victims of auto negligence. Mr. Norwood’s automobile collision victim client was prevented from recovering for pain and suffering in court, so Mr. Norwood filed a declaratory judgement moving the courts to find the statute unconstitutional. The trial court and the Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed. This decision allowed injury victims in Oklahoma to be able to recover for pain and suffering when insurance companies would otherwise not have to pay victim. The consequences of this decision are felt every day and has allowed injury victims to recover millions of dollars that would have been cut off to them if the law stood. Montgomery v. Potter, 2014 OK 118, 341 P.3d 660 (2014) https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=474905, 2014
Pro bono / Community Service
- Started a 501c3 non-profit named Oklahoma Justice League to raise funds for the representation of the wrongfully convicted. , 2020
Educational Background
- University of Tulsa College of Law, 2002
- Full ride football scholarship to Lindenwood University., 1997
- Full ride football scholarship to Butler County Community College., 1994
Honors
- Joseph Norwood was awarded the Golden Rule Award from the Tulsa County Bar Association for the first quarter of 2024 for his dedication in his representation of his clients. , Golden Rule Award from the Tulsa County Bar Association, https://issuu.com/tulsacountybarassoication/docs/04-23_tl_web_9a8a3338fa5da3, 2024
Industry Groups
- Construction Companies
- Medical Marijuana Businesses
- Small And Mid-sized Businesses
- Trucking Companies
Office location for Joseph Norwood
1601 S Main St
Suite 300
Tulsa, OK 74119
Selections
2 Years Super Lawyers
- Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2025