Oklahoma County Court faces increased eviction cases ahead of Memorial Day

OKLAHOMA CITY- (KOKH) — As we're nearing memorial day weekend, the Oklahoma County Court is seeing a mass number of potential evictions.

"So today [Wednesday] we're looking at about 222 for this docket, tomorrow, at this point, we're looking at 385, so we'll also have some continuances from today," saidAndrew Case, a staff attorney for Legal Aid Services Oklahoma.

But what's the reason for such high numbers? Case. who is working to help people who are facing eviction, said the upcoming holiday is certainly playing a role.

"Where we're at right now, we're already at the end of the month, and usually, we see eviction rates rise as we get towards the end of the month; a lot of landlords have a specific date, after which late fees are assessed, and then they'll file an eviction, so that's part of it," Case said. "On top of that, because we're not here on Monday because of Memorial Day, we're looking at a docket that they've had to combine Monday with Thursday, and so you're getting all of the evictions that would've been Thursday, and evictions that would've been on Monday."

Case added because of the amount of cases, it's cutting the average time for a hearing to a staggering amount.

"If you take the number of cases and the time set for the docket, which is typically 10 to noon, if you look at that time frame, the number of cases, we're talking about 19 seconds per case," he said.

We asked Case how someone could possibly win or even convey their case in that timeframe. Here's what he had to say:

"It's difficult, number one. Number two, you hope for a hearing where a judge if going to afford you the opportunity," he said.

Case said receipts and documentation of any amount you have paid are extremely important to bring if you're in this situation.

Any tenant can call and apply for Legal Aid's services statewide at 1-888-534-5343 or online at oklegalconnect.org. Tenants in Oklahoma County can call the OKC office at 405-497-6422.