Not every DUI is charged the same, even if two cases are identical. Some are charged as misdemeanors, and some are charged as felonies. So, what makes a DUI a felony? It’s more complicated than you might think.
On any given day, an estimated 1 in 10 Oklahomans are breaking the law when they drive to work or run errands. The reason? They legally consumed medical marijuana within the last month.
With Oklahoma’s recent passage of to-go alcoholic beverages, many people question: does this violate open container laws? And what is the penalty to open container laws?
There was a time, not so long ago, when people getting ready for a night out used to choose one person from among their group to be the designated driver, the person whose job it was to drive a group of friends to and from the bars and would thus forgo drinking for the evening.
Car accidents and fatalities are on the rise despite rising vehicle safety standards and major public awareness campaigns about the dangers of drunk and distracted driving. The underlying reasons for these fatalities, however, have undergone significant changes over the years.
Your auto insurance rates probably aren’t at the top of your mind during a DUI arrest. But they certainly will be when you see just how much a conviction for driving under the influence in Oklahoma can increase your insurance costs.
If you get a DUI, the State also begins taking steps to revoke your driving privileges. This process begins at the time of your DUI arrest or if you refuse a breath or blood test.
You already know by now that driving under the influence of alcohol in Oklahoma can lead to jail time, fines, and other consequences. But a surprisingly long list of common drugs we all take everyday can lead to DUI charges that are just as serious.
To blow or not to blow, that is the question -- at least for DUI lawyers. If an officer without a warrant invites you to consent to a field sobriety test, breathalyzer, or draw of your blood to verify that you are not driving under the influence, should you do it?
The ongoing COVID-19 virus outbreak has deeply disrupted virtually every aspect of public life with seemingly no end in sight. DUI Enforcement is no exception. Police rely heavily on the breathalyzer to identify drunk drivers, but serious questions have arisen about the safety of breath-based tests during the COVID outbreak.
A commercial driver’s license can open up a whole new world of opportunities, so you may be one of many Oklahomans who choose to pursue one. But what if you are also one of the thousands of people arrested each year in Oklahoma for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol?
You may have a habit of using DUI and DWI interchangeably in everyday conversations. You’re not alone -- it’s common for people to be unfamiliar with the difference.
Many Oklahomans choose to earn their living in the cab of a truck, bus, or other heavy vehicle. You may be one of them. What you may not know, however, is that the consequences for a DUI are worse if you hold a commercial driver’s license.
In the short time that smartphone technology has existed, it has become deeply ingrained in every aspect of our daily lives. Our biology is no exception.
Between 150 and 200 people die every year due to drunk driving in Oklahoma, and thousands more people are arrested for driving under the influence.
In the 1930’s, as cars became mainstream and more drivers were on the road than ever before, the first drunk driving laws started to become law. Almost immediately after, law enforcement began seeking ways to identify drunk drivers in a way that would hold up in Court.
Stepped up police patrols, increased traffic stops for even minor violations, and DUI sobriety checkpoints await drivers nationwide as they head into the Labor Day holiday period from late August until early September.
In the summer of 2013, Matthew Mottor of Hinsdale, Massachusetts, met with a group of friends at the Deerfield River for a float trip and picnic. On the way to the picnic, however, Mottor was pulled over.
Police have been using the smell of marijuana as justification to conduct warrantless searches for decades. So long, in fact, that it’s become a convenient way for depicting stereotypical teenage troublemakers in pop culture, such as in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Dazed and Confused.”
Having your drivers license revoked after a DUI can have drastic consequences, including not being able to work or live a normal life. Under new laws passed in late 2019, you now have a direct path to keeping your license. Previously, DUI and Actual Physical Control arrests resulted in license suspensions with very few exceptions. Oklahoma’s new Impaired Driver Accountability Program (IDAP) allows you to keep your license from being revoked if you meet certain conditions.
A new bill just signed into law will make Oklahoma the first in the nation to extensively test a controversial new technology designed to detect whether those pulled over by police are driving under the influence of marijuana.
Since 1996, more than 30 states -- including Oklahoma -- have passed some form of cannabis legalization. These range from strictly regulated medical marijuana that requires a doctor’s prescription to open recreational use.
The state of Oklahoma recently legalized the use of medical marijuana, but not all aspects of the law have caught up with the change.
Major changes to Oklahoma’s DUI laws went into effect on November 1st, 2019 that fundamentally alter the way that driver’s license revocations are handled in the State.
A DUI checkpoint is a roadblock set up by police to check drivers for signs of intoxication. These checkpoints may also be called sobriety checkpoints, DUI roadblocks, mobile checkpoints, or something similar.
On October 11, 2019, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals reversed a Tulsa County judge and found in favor of our client. In February 2018, M. Cole (“Licensee”) was arrested for suspicion of DUI and his license was taken by the arresting officer.
We know bad things happen to good people. Whether you’re out watching the game with some friends or having a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, a DUI can happen to anyone.
When I worked as a prosecutor, my approach for non-violent defendants was rehabilitation, not incarceration. Incarceration does not rehabilitate a person who has a drug problem and once a person who is incarcerated for a drug-related/induced offense is released from prison, they don’t have the tools necessary to get meaningful employment or reintegrate into society.