918-550-9175

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Free Evaluation
logo
mobile logo
 

law enforcement Tag

18 December
0 Comments
Sticky

What Is a Certified Drug Recognition Expert in Oklahoma?

Posted by Clint
in Blog
What Is a Certified Drug Recognition Expert in Oklahoma?

In Oklahoma, certain law enforcement officers trained as “Certified Drug Recognition Experts” may assess drivers’ impairment at the roadside or the police station. While these “experts” do receive education and information on spotting impaired drivers, there are ways to challenge their expertise in court. What Is a Certified Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)? The state recognizes law enforcement officers who have completed the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program’s (DECP) training as Certified Drug Recognition Experts. This training has specific educational requirements for certification. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established these requirements. In other...

Continue reading
29 June
0 Comments
Sticky

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...

Continue reading
20 June
0 Comments
Sticky

Defenses to Oklahoma Criminal Drug Charges

Posted by Clint
in Uncategorized
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...

Continue reading
14 May
0 Comments
Sticky

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

Posted by Clint
in Blog
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
13 April
0 Comments
Sticky

Passengers’ Rights at Traffic Stops

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Passengers’ Rights at Traffic Stops

Passengers in a car pulled over at a traffic stop are in a sticky position. They are not operating the vehicle, so they cannot be arrested for DUI or cited for traffic infractions. When law enforcement pulls a car over, passengers may not know what to do. Can the police order a passenger to stay in the car or get out of the car? Yes, courts have concluded that police can either order passengers to stay in or get out of the car during a traffic stop. Reasoning centers on concern for police officers’ safety and need to exercise control over everyone...

Continue reading
02 April
0 Comments
Sticky

How Cops Find Drugs During Traffic Stops

Posted by Clint
in Blog
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...

Continue reading
28 February
0 Comments
Sticky

Vehicle Impounded? What to Do Next

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Vehicle Impounded? What to Do Next

Many drivers who are arrested for driving under the influence have their cars impounded by the police. “Impound” means that the car is towed by a tow truck to a city or state lot where it is kept until the driver or an authorized representative picks it up and pays the impound fees. Police impound cars because the driver cannot or should not drive them and they will otherwise be parked in possibly unsafe locations on public property. The only ways to avoid impound of your vehicle are 1) to convince a sober friend or passenger at the scene to drive...

Continue reading
22 November
0 Comments
Sticky

Challenging Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test Administration

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Challenging Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test Administration

People charged with DUIs can and do challenge Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test administration. The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test (HGN test) is one of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) given to suspected drunk drivers at the roadside by law enforcement. To determine how to challenge HGN test administration, learn how the test is administered and then how police officers do it incorrectly. How is the HGN test correctly administered? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides law enforcement with guidelines on administering the HGN test. This article only summarizes the detailed guidelines. First, the officer should instruct the driver to place his feet...

Continue reading
10 November
0 Comments
Sticky

Targeting, Quotas, and “Wolf Packs”

Posted by Clint
in Blog
Targeting, Quotas, and Wolf Packs

When law enforcement take to the roads searching for people to ticket and arrest, often their patrols are not random. Police use techniques such as targeting, quotas, and “wolf packs” to locate people violating the law (or that they think are violating the law) and beef up arrest rates. Targeting Police departments target specific areas or specific people for DUI checks. In particular, most police departments schedule the locations of their sobriety checkpoints based on likely locations to catch drunk drivers. They monitor the dates of local events such as concerts and schedule checkpoints near exits from the concert venue, or they...

Continue reading
26 June
0 Comments
Sticky

Are Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Legal in Oklahoma?

Posted by rainmakeradmin
in Blog
Are Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Legal in Oklahoma?

A recent court decision and changes to Oklahoma law have called into question whether Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) are really “legal” or “accepted” in Oklahoma. While law enforcement officers still administer the tests, defendants frequently question their reliability and their administration in court as part of a DUI defense strategy. SFSTs are field tests administered on the roadside at a traffic stop to drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. Usually, the tests used are approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The basic tests are: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, the Walk and Turn, and the...

Continue reading