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Legal Issues with “Drug Busts”: What You Need to Know

Legal Issues with Drug Busts: What You Need to Know

When the police conduct a drug bust, people arrested during the bust or linked to it may have some legal trouble ahead. Fortunately, a few common issues that come up during drug busts could help these people develop defenses in criminal court. Did the Police Have a Proper Warrant, and Did They Follow It? Often, drug busts happen on very short notice, after the police get a tip. They may seek a warrant from a judge late at night, on the weekend, or extremely quickly. In their haste, the warrant may omit key information or be limited in scope. When police execute...

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Swallowing the Evidence: How It May Affect Drug Crime Charges

Swallowing the Evidence: How It May Affect Drug Crime Charges

You have seen it on TV or in a movie – someone swallows the key piece of evidence before the police arrive, and he gets off scot-free. Unfortunately, in real life, things rarely work out so smoothly. Swallowing the evidence can get you in more trouble than the drug crime charges you wanted to avoid. It may seem like a good idea to quickly down the drugs just before the police open the door or walk up to your car. Chances are, however, they already have a reason to be talking to you, such as seeing you purchase drugs or noticing...

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Can the D.A. Use Evidence of Your Prior Arrests Against You?

Can the D.A. Use Evidence of Your Prior Arrests Against You?

When you are in court for a DUI or a drug crime, you may be concerned that the D.A. will use evidence of your prior arrests against you to secure a conviction. If you were arrested for the same crime previously, you may fear that your previous arrest will be used to show that you committed the crime this time. You will be glad to learn that Oklahoma has limitations on how evidence of previous arrests and convictions can be used in court. Often previous arrests have no relevance to a later arrest, because arrests do not mean that you were...

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How Police Obtain a Warrant to Search for Drugs

How Police Obtain a Warrant to Search for Drugs

Before police can search for drugs, they need to obtain a warrant from the court unless a few exceptions apply. The search warrant is a legal document explaining where the police can search for evidence of a crime. Once law enforcement has a warrant, they do not need your consent to search the specified area. Police officers must get search warrants from judges or magistrate judges. The judge issuing a warrant must be “neutral and detached” and “capable of determining whether probable cause exists”. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443 (1971). This requirement helps ensure that there is no conflict...

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Criminal Conspiracy Charges in Oklahoma

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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How Cops Find Drugs During Traffic Stops

How Cops Find Drugs During Traffic Stops

A person pulled over for suspected DUI or another driving offense may find himself in more trouble if police search the vehicle. If law enforcement finds evidence of another crime, such as illegal drugs, in the vehicle, they can charge you with that crime too. A simple traffic infraction could escalate to much more serious criminal charges. Usually, police need a warrant to search cars. During traffic stops, however, they can search vehicles without a warrant for several reasons. First, police may search a vehicle incident to a driver’s arrest. Often this type of search is legally permitted because police reasonably...

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What Is Impeachment Evidence?

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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When Prosecutors Withhold Exculpatory DUI Evidence

When Prosecutors Withhold Exculpatory DUI Evidence

Our criminal justice system is still grappling with the reality that prosecutors and other state employees do withhold exculpatory evidence in DUI and other cases. When defense attorneys learn that evidence has been withheld, they may be able to challenge convictions. In recent news from Massachusetts, staff at a state crime lab routinely withheld exculpatory evidence from DUI defense attorneys for more than five years. The discovery by investigators of unwritten rules to never turn over documents including “evidence that breath testing devices had failed to properly calibrate during the office’s certification process” could provide grounds for appeal in thousands of...

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Anonymous Witnesses in Criminal Cases

Anonymous Witnesses in Criminal Cases

Do you have the right to confront anonymous witnesses used by the prosecution in a criminal trial? A recent federal court case posed this question when anonymous witnesses testified in court. At the trial, several witnesses testified against the accused, who allegedly smuggled an illegal immigrant across state lines. The prosecution claimed that these witnesses faced a safety risk by testifying, so their true names and identities were concealed from the accused and her attorney. While her attorney was able to cross-examine the witnesses and received information about their criminal histories and the benefits they received from assisting law enforcement, the...

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Should I Resist an Illegal Traffic Stop?

Should I Resist an Illegal Traffic Stop?

If you have ever been pulled over by a police officer, you may have wondered whether you should resist a truly illegal traffic stop. An Oklahoma appeals court found that drivers must submit to even obviously bogus stops by the police. In State v. Nelson, 2015 OK CR 10 (2015), the driver made a left-hand turn into a parking lot. The road was deserted and there were no cars in sight, except the police officer’s hidden patrol car. The officer pulled over the driver for failure to signal. He tried to write the driver a ticket, and the driver started walking...

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