What to expect if charged with an alcohol related driving offense in Oklahoma

I WAS ARRESTED FOR AN ALCOHOL RELATED DRIVING OFFENSE; NOW WHAT?

Alcohol related driving offenses are one of the most common criminal offenses seen in the judicial system. Most people who are arrested for an alcohol related driving offense are people that made a mistake, want to work out the best plea agreement they can and move on with their life; for the people in that category, listed below is an overview of what you can expect if you are charged with first offense DUI, DWI or APC in the state of Oklahoma.

When you are arrested for DUI, DWI or APC you essentially have two cases to deal with, not one. You have the criminal charges that must be resolved in either municipal or state court and you have the issue of receiving a modified driver's license that must be handled with the Department of Public Safety. This article will address the criminal case first.

WHAT A FIRST OFFENDER CAN EXPECT WHEN CHARGED WITH DUI, DWI OR APC

Will I be sentenced to jail?

In the vast majority of cases the answer is no. Most jurisdictions in the state realize that they simply do not have the resources to incarcerate first time DUI/DWI/APC offenders. First time offenders in and around Tulsa rarely are sentenced to jail for a first offense DUI/DWI/APC. I would hesitate to say never, but feel comfortable saying that it almost never happens. (A big exception to first time offenders not facing jail time is Washington County, it is my understanding that first time offenders in Washington County are routinely sentenced to jail time of 7 days.)

If I pled guilty what will I be expected to do?

The short answer is a lot. DUI, DWI and APC cases are so common that in most jurisdictions the prosecutor's office has a "standard recommendation" for first time offenders Listed below is a standard recommendation that someone could expect for a first time DUI in Tulsa County.

• 1 Year Suspended Sentence (A defendant is on probation and does not go to jail as long as they don't violate the terms of the probation which includes not violating and state or local laws.)

• $250 Fine

• $125 Victim's Compensation Fund

• DA Supervision (Requires a Defendant to pay the DA's Office $40 a month)

• 56 work hours (A defendant is typically allowed to purchase 40 work hours for $320 which means the defendant only has to perform 16 work hours.)

• Obtain a Drug and Alcohol Assessment and follow any recommendations. (A defendant will have to attend either a 10 hour or a 24 hours school.)

• Victim Impact Panel

This is a standard recommendation for first time offenders charged with DUI in Tulsa county. It is only a recommendation (Which means it is the plea offer that the prosecutor extends to the defendant) a defendant always has the option of a jury trial or a "blind plea". A "blind plea" is a plea made to the judge without a plea agreement with the state. With a blind plea the defendant can receive a more lenient sentence or a more severe sentence. Recently the Tulsa County District Attorney's office has changed their policy and has stopped offering deferred sentences or reductions to DWI or Reckless Driving for those charged with first offense DUI.
I am told that the reason the Tulsa county District Attorney's office has adopted this policy is because of a rash of recent DUI Manslaughter cases. (Within the last 2 years, I have personally represented 4 separate individuals accused of causing the death of a total of 9 people in DUI Manslaughter cases.)

In Tulsa county in cases that are not egregious many defendants are blind pleading their DUI cases to the judge and obtaining a better outcome than the standard recommendation of the Tulsa county District Attorney's office. In those cases the defendants are receiving deferred sentences. However, blind pleas must be approached cautiously; because the judge could sentence the defendant up to the maximum allowed by law. (Which for DUI is a year in the county jail.)

The standard recommendation of the Tulsa County District Attorney's office is pretty typical. The one down side to that recommendation is that the Tulsa county District Attorney's office wants suspended sentence for misdemeanor DUI and will not offer reductions to DWI or a deferred. The reason is that first time DUIs are misdemeanors, but a second subsequent offense within 10 years is a felon. In short the district attorney's office wants a conviction so that if a defendant gets another DUI conviction within a ten year period it can be charged as a felony offense.

One of the upsides to the standard recommendation in Tulsa County is that they only require 56 work hours of which a defendant can purchase 40 hours for $320. This means if a defendant has the money they only have to perform 16 work hours. Other counties are not as lenient on work hours. For example if you are charged with a first time DUI in Rogers County their standard recommendation will include 120 work hours. (That is 4 weeks working full time.) The requirement of 120 work hours in Rogers county is pretty engrained, it is even pre-printed in their plea packet.

Most counties are going to require the DA Supervision for misdemeanors. DA Supervision is kind of like having a probation officer, but not really. The DA's office is not likely to show up at your home or anything like that however, they do want their monthly fee. Basically it is an additional funding source for the DA's office. Most of the local District Attorney's offices did not even have a DA Supervision program until the legislature began cutting their budgets.

Many of the requirements of the standard recommendations are statutorily required. For example a defendant receiving a drug and alcohol assessment and following the recommendations is required by statute. (See Title 47 O.S. § 11-902 (G)) Attending of a Victim Impact Panel is required by statute. (See Title 47 O.S. § 11-902 (H)) A payment to the Victim Compensation Fund is statutorily required. ( Title 22 O.S. § 142.18)

Should I spend the extra money and hire someone that "Specializes" in DUI cases?

The hiring of a lawyer is a personal decision to be made by each defendant. The Oklahoma Bar Association does have a brochure with information to assist the public in making that decision. Click here to see that brochure. It should also be noted that Oklahoma does not recognize "Specialties" in law, except for Maritime Law and Patent Law. (See Title 5 O.S. § Rule 7.4)

My opinion is that for most people charged with DUI offenses that hiring someone that holds themselves out to be a DUI Specialist will only cost a defendant more money to get the same deal. The reason that I hold this opinion is that DUI, DWI and APC charges are so common that most prosecuting agencies have standard recommendations that they extend to most defendants. From time to time a lawyer will be able to negotiate more favorable conditions in a plea agreement or know when to advise a defendant that they may want to consider a "blind plea", but with the majority of alcohol related driving offenses defendants are going to end up with substantially the same deal. In my experience the differences in the plea agreements seen have more to do with the jurisdiction the individual is charged in than with the lawyer who is representing them. My opinion is shared several other lawyers that I know.

WHAT A FIRST OFFENDER CAN EXPECT WHEN DEALING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

When arrested for DUI, DWI, or APC a defendant's license will be confiscated and that person will typically be given an affidavit that requires a temporary license. What is important to know that if you are arrested for DUI, DWI or APC that the Department of Public Safety will suspend your license for a period of time. However, in most circumstance you can request a modified license. (You can also request a hearing if you would like to challenge the basis of the officer's determination. However, even if you end up winning the DPS hearing if you plead to the DUI, DWI or APC that is also a basis to suspend the License and places you in the same position as if you had the hearing and lost.)

What is important to know is that you must request your hearing or modification within 15 days. The request form is on the DPS website. Click here for a copy of the form. You can either represent yourself with the Department of Public Safety or have a lawyer represent you. If you are requesting a modification it is better that with the modification request form that you fill out the form "Information for a Modified Driver's License" and attach a $175 cashier's check or money order with the form. (This speeds up the process.)

The DPS will send you a letter that will serve as a temporary license. (You must the original letter with the seal for the letter to be considered a valid license.) After receiving the modification request, the "Information for a Modified Driver's License" and the $175 the DPS will send you a letter directing you to have an ignition interlock placed upon your vehicle. (Yes almost everyone is required to have an ignition interlock.) Once the ignition interlock is on your vehicle you will receive a certificate that you must return to the DPS. All of the forms and letters from DPS are pretty self-explanatory. After a six month period your license can be re-instated without the ignition interlock and you can drive again without a interlock device.

You will have to pay to have the ignition interlock placed on the vehicle and a monthly fee while the interlock device is on the vehicle.

The War on Drugs

When we look back over American history our history we can see multiple examples of great injustices. Now reasonable people agree that what our country did to Native Americans was a great injustice. Reasonable people agree that slavery and segregation was horrific. Imprisoning American citizens of Japanese decent during World War II was unacceptable behavior on our countries part. While we can all agree about these injustices now, during the time they were being committed these injustices had popular support.

It seems incomprehensible to most modern citizens that the leaders of our country condoned the buying and selling of human beings. That people were property and the families could be torn apart at the whim of their 'master'. How could our country steal land from people that had occupied it for thousands of years. How could our country break treaty after treaty that we promised to keep? How could our country kill innocent women and children by providing them with diseased blankets? What were our leaders thinking when they decided to imprison American citizens of Japanese decent? There are other examples as well such as women's suffrage and segregation. Seeing these great injustices one has to ask the question; do we learn from our history?

Only time will tell, but 50 years from now are the American citizens of 2060 going to look back at our society and ask "How could they imprison people because they had an addiction?'" Supporters of "The War on Drugs" often claim that "The War on Drugs" is an issue of morality. I would say like many of our countries great injustices of the past, it is an issue of immorality. Where is the morality in imprisoning someone because they have an addiction? What is moral about taking away a child's mother or father because that person is addicted to drugs? What is moral about spending tens of millions on prisons that would be better spent on treatment and education. What is moral about spending my tax dollars locking up an addict instead of spending that money educating our children or fixing our roads and bridges.

Not only is "The War on Drugs" immoral it is ill-conceived and destined to fail. How many causalities will this war produce before we wake up an realize it? Those in charge of the "War on Drugs" have placed the horse behind the cart. Instead of focusing on treatment to help those addicted to drugs stop abusing them and education to help prevent new users; they have instead decided to focus the country's efforts on reducing the supply. That is a losing proposition. The problem with this approach is that it ignores the law of supply and demand. For example, if police officers arrest the biggest drug dealer in a particular town what have they really done? The reduced the supply of drugs temporarily. What affect will that have on the local drug market? It will drive up the price. Because most users of illegal drugs are addicted and they cannot stop using without help, so they will pay whatever they have to to get the drugs. It is the "whatever they have to" part that drives a lot of crime.

Reducing the supply without reducing the demand also has another unintended consequence, it creates a greater incentive for others to become involved in selling drugs. Why? Higher prices equal greater profit. So our country has an endless supply of drug dealers. Where does that supply come from? It is our youth that we are not educating. It is the children that have had little guidance because we imprisoned their parents. It is children that grow up expecting to go to prison because that is what their parents, their brothers and sisters, their aunts and uncles, their grand parents did. To many people using and selling drugs being arrested and going to jail and prison is a family tradition.

To effectively address the problem with drugs we have to address the demand not the supply. Without the demand the market will die. If you don't believe that look at the buggy whip industry. We have to refocus our efforts and focus on treatment and not incarceration. We have to focus on education.

Since 1996 thirteen states have passed laws allowing medical marijuana. This is a start. Several countries in Europe have either legalized drugs or decriminalized drugs. Most people that die as a result of drugs die as a result of drug related violence. People who actually die yearly directly from illicit drug user is approximately 17,000. People who die yearly from adverse reactions from prescription drugs is approximately 32,000. If drugs were legalized and sold through licenced distributors drug related violence would drastically drop, the prices of drugs would drop which would decrease property crime related to the purchase of drugs, the prison population could be greatly reduced, we could spend the prison savings on drug treatment and education, not to mention the increased revenue from taxes.

"The Drug War" is a failure, it is time to admit it.