Cherokee Nation citizen and lawyer Robert Don Gifford was recently selected as the 2025 winner of the Clarence Darrow Award given by the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association (OCDLA). 

The award recognizes an Oklahoma attorney who exemplifies the zealous criminal defense advocacy that befits the namesake of the award, Clarence Darrow. Gifford was recognized for his work in securing a Presidential Commutation for Native American activist Leonard Peltier, his recent string of consecutive acquittals in federal court, as well as his pro bono work and advocacy outside of the courtroom with his writings and public speaking. 

The latest national statistics show that out of the 71,954 federal jury trials, there were only 290 acquittals. In federal criminal cases only 4% of all jury trials result in a “Not Guilty” verdict and Gifford had multiple in a single year.

Earlier this year, Gifford was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and in December of last year he was selected as representative from Oklahoma to serve on the United States Commission for Civil Rights. He is also the current Chair of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Military and Veteran’s Law Section and is a trustee to the Oklahoma County Law Library. A retired Colonel from the U.S. Army, Gifford was previously been honored by the Cherokee Nation with the Medal of Patriotism for his 23 years of active and reserve military service and continued service to servicemembers, veterans, and their families. 

Gifford also serves as a Supreme Court Justice for the Supreme Courts for the Comanche Nation, Sac and Fox Tribe of Oklahoma and the Pawnee Nation. Gifford also serves as the chief trial judge for the Kaw Nation District Court and the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, and is an associate tribal court judge for the Seminole Nation, the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe, and the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma.

According to the press release, Gifford began his legal career in 1994 as a law clerk for the Cherokee Nation under Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller while receiving his law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law where he was an editor on the American Indian Law Review and a local and national officer for the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA).