Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

 

civil Tag

Could You Face Both Civil and Criminal Legal Consequences for a DUI?

Could You Face Both Civil and Criminal Legal Consequences for a DUI?

When you are facing a possible criminal record because of a DUI, civil legal consequences may seem like the last of your worries. Most people do face some sort of civil action after they get charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Driver’s License Revocation The driver’s license revocation process through the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) is considered a civil administrative action. You will not face criminal charges, but the DPS could take away your driver’s license for an extended period of time. When you get arrested for DUI by a police officer, the officer usually will seize...

Continue reading

How the State Can Seize Innocent Oklahomans’ Property through Civil Asset Forfeiture

How the State Can Seize Innocent Oklahomans’ Property through Civil Asset Forfeiture

Oklahoma’s civil asset forfeiture laws allows police to confiscate your personal property if they believe it is connected to a crime. The laws allow the state to collect millions of dollars in personal property that may have no relationship to a crime at all. Under civil asset forfeiture laws, citizens “forfeit” property that law enforcement believes had a connection to a crime. Police could seize cash found during a traffic stop, for example, if they suspected it was proceeds from the sale of drugs. The property seized can include anything from cash to vehicles to real estate. Most forfeitures involve cash...

Continue reading

Taking the Fifth

Taking the Fifth

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution states plainly that no one “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself”. Many people call this refusal to testify “taking the Fifth” or “pleading the Fifth”. It is also referred to as the right against self-incrimination. Criminal defendants may take the Fifth in a criminal trial. Rather than testifying, the defendant must indicate his intention not to testify to avoid incriminating himself. His attorney, the prosecutor, and the judge cannot force him to testify. However, if the defendant takes the stand and answers a few questions, then tries to...

Continue reading

DUI Vehicle Forfeiture: Is It Legal?

DUI Vehicle Forfeiture - Is It Legal?

Oklahoma law permits DUI vehicle forfeiture, meaning the state could take your vehicle away because you violated DUI laws. Many citizens are shocked to learn that the courts allow civil asset forfeiture on a regular basis against criminal defendants. Not just any DUI driver can have his car seized. The law is very specific about which offenses could lead to forfeiture. First, you must have at least two DUI offenses on your record. If you have two offenses, the first one must be within 10 years of the second one, and at least one of the two offenses must have involved...

Continue reading

Double Jeopardy and Drunk Driving Offenses

Double Jeopardy and Drunk Driving Offenses

The Double Jeopardy clause in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents defendants from being tried twice for the same crime on the same facts after a conviction or acquittal. The Supreme Court has never addressed whether charging DUI defendants with multiple criminal and civil offenses for the same incident violates the Double Jeopardy clause of the Constitution. Multiple Supreme Court decisions regarding other crimes indicate that making this argument has at least some merit. In Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784 (1969), a defendant was tried for burglary and larceny. After he was convicted of burglary but acquitted...

Continue reading