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. The officer suspected he was intoxicated and subjected him to a field breathalyzer. He blew above the legal limit on the roadside and again later at the police station on a second device.
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. More than 30 states have now passed some version of marijuana legalization, but how police departments will enforce existing laws that prohibit “drugged” driving remains unclear.
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. Oklahoma’s DUI laws still prohibit you from having any marijuana in your system when driving. You may be using medical marijuana legally, but if you drive with it in your system, you are still breaking the law.
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. When you get arrested for a DUI or Actual Physical Control, you now get notice that your driving privileges will be revoked in 30 days from the date of your arrest. The same applies if you refuse to do a breathalyzer or blood test. Gone are the administrative hearings in front of a DPS case officer. Instead, you have three options: You can do nothing, enter into an IDAP Diversion Agreement, or fight the revocation in district court.
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. Some states prohibit such checkpoints, but the majority of the states, including Oklahoma, allow law enforcement to conduct DUI checkpoints.
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. As a result of the arrest, DPS wanted to revoke his license for five years. Luckily, the Licensee hired the Tulsa DUI Guy who appealed the case all the way to the appellate courts.
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. It is important to remember that a DUI arrest does not make you a bad person, but it can have substantial implications, which is why it is important you hire us. We understand how traumatizing an arrest, mugshot, and a night in jail can be and we are here to help.
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.