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defense Tag

20 July
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DUI or Drug Arrest While You Were Asleep

Posted by Clint
in Blog
DUI or Drug Arrest While You Were Asleep

Police find a man asleep in a car on the side of the road and arrest him on suspicion of DUI. They find another man sleeping on the sidewalk next to a used syringe and several bottles of pills and arrest him for drug possession. Both men remain unconscious throughout their arrest, transport, and booking, waking up the next morning in jail cells. You may wonder if this is legal and how the prosecutor can prove crimes were committed if the men were asleep. DUI Arrest While Asleep Even sitting in a car while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or...

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29 June
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Entrapment and Oklahoma Drug-Related Crimes: What You Should Know

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Entrapment and Oklahoma Drug-Related Crimes: What You Should Know

Depending on the facts, a defendant charged with drug crimes in Oklahoma may use the affirmative defense of entrapment in court. You may have some understanding of entrapment from popular culture, but the legal definition of this defense is not the same as the cultural understanding. In court, entrapment has 2 specific requirements: The defendant has no previous intent or purpose to violate the law, and The defendant is induced or persuaded by law enforcement officers to commit a crime. Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions, OUJI-CR 8-25. Each requirement raises an important and sometimes difficult to prove issue. First, defendants who are...

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20 June
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Defenses to Oklahoma Criminal Drug Charges

Posted by Clint
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Defenses to Oklahoma Criminal Drug Charges

When you hire a criminal defense attorney because you were charged with a drug crime, your attorney will develop any defenses you have. Defenses are reasons why you did not commit a crime, why you cannot be convicted of a crime, or why evidence against you should be thrown out of court. For drug crimes specifically, there are a number of different defenses that may apply depending on the facts of your case. Elements of the Crime Not Proved Attorneys often argue either that the prosecution did not prove all the elements of the crime. The elements of the crime are the...

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07 May
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Criminal Conspiracy Charges in Oklahoma

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Criminal Conspiracy Charges in Oklahoma

Oklahoma law criminalizes conspiracy to commit a crime, even if the accused does not commit the planned crime itself. A criminal conspiracy involves a group of people working together to plan or execute a criminal act. To prove that a person is guilty of criminal conspiracy, the prosecution must show that (1) there was an agreement among two or more people (including the accused) to commit a crime, and (2) at least one person took an overt act in furtherance of the agreement to commit a crime. 21 O.S. § 421. Again, it does not matter whether the co-conspirators actually commit...

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16 March
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Will Medical Need Excuse Your Possession of Marijuana Charge?

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Will Medical Need Excuse Your Possession of Marijuana Charge?

People find relief from various different medical conditions by using marijuana, whether prescribed by a doctor or obtained by other means. In Oklahoma, marijuana users who treat medical conditions with the plant could face serious criminal charges if found in possession of marijuana or under its influence. New legislation up for a state-wide vote in June 2018 could help them stay out of trouble. Voters will decide State Question 788 on June 26, 2018. If passed, the ballot initiative would legalize the licensed use, possession, and cultivation of marijuana for medicinal use only. Users would need to obtain a signature from...

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05 March
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What Does an Oklahoma Defense Lawyer Do?

Posted by Clint
in Blog
What Does an Oklahoma Defense Lawyer Do?

If you have been charged with a crime, you may be thinking about whether you need to hire a defense lawyer. Many people have questions about what lawyers will do for their case. Defense lawyers work for you, investigate the facts behind the charges against you, determine the best defenses for your case, and argue your case in court. Defense Lawyers Investigate Your Case Criminal defense lawyers investigate the charges filed against their clients to determine important facts for their defense in court. For example, defense lawyers interview witnesses who were at the scene of an accident and talk to friends and...

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09 February
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Can You Be Arrested for Suspicion of DUI?

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Can You Be Arrested for Suspicion of DUI?

It is tricky to answer the question “can you be arrested for suspicion of DUI?” The United States legal system presumes that a driver is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, even if an arresting officer suspects the driver committed a crime. Yet many states seem to have DUI laws that presume guilt before a court trial occurs and permit police officers to question drivers without any suspicion at all. In some sense, all DUI arrests are based only on a suspicion rather than on conclusive proof, but drivers face laws that are targeted to convict even...

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17 January
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Discrediting Eyewitness Testimony

Posted by Clint
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Discrediting Eyewitness Testimony

At a criminal trial, the prosecution and defense work hard to discredit eyewitness testimony offered by the opposing side. The effect of discrediting the observations of a key witness in front of a jury can be extremely influential in a case’s outcome. Lawyers use numerous techniques to show that an eyewitness is unreliable, some of which are outlined here. Questioning About the Accuracy of a Witness’s Memory One of the most powerful ways to discredit an eyewitness involves questioning the accuracy of that witness’s memory. For example, a lawyer might ask whether the witness was under the influence of any drugs or...

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05 January
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What Is Impeachment Evidence?

Posted by Clint
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What Is Impeachment Evidence

In criminal cases, lawyers use various types of evidence to question the accuracy of witnesses’ testimony. The process is called impeachment. Various different kinds of impeachment evidence may show that a witness is not being truthful, such as if prior statements to the police contradict testimony on the stand, or that a witness was not able to observe what happened, such as if the witness has poor vision. Oklahoma law permits lawyers to use specific types of evidence for impeachment purposes. Lawyers may question the witness they are trying to impeach, or they may question a different person to impeach a...

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13 December
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The Duty of Prosecutors to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence

Posted by Clint
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The Duty of Prosecutors to Disclose Exculpatory Evidence

Prosecutors must disclose all exculpatory evidence to defense attorneys in Oklahoma. “Exculpatory” evidence tends to show that the defendant is not guilty or shows that the crime committed is a lesser offense (e.g. manslaughter instead of murder). Both state rules of professional responsibility and a number of Supreme Court cases explain this mandate. Oklahoma Code of Professional Responsibility, Rule 3.8(d) states: “A prosecutor shall make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense”. The Code of Professional Responsibility must be followed by...

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