If you are charged in Oklahoma with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs (DUI, DUI-D) or charged with Actual Physical Control of a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs (APC), there are several basic things to know.
If arrested for an Oklahoma DUI or an Oklahoma APC, you can be charged with a Municipal DUI or a District Court State charge of DUI. The choice is generally the officer if he/she is a municipal officer. If your DUI arrest is actuated by a County Deputy or Oklahoma Highway Patrol, your charge will almost always be in the State District Court.
If charged in municipal court, your DUI charge will always be a misdemeanor DUI charge carrying at most: up to 180 days in jail, up to a $1200 fine, as well as complete an alcohol assessment and follow up. A lot of municipal courts carry far less than these maximums.
If you are charged in Oklahoma District Court, your charge can be a misdemeanor DUI or a felony DUI. If you have no other prior DUIs within the previous ten years, then the charge is a misdemeanor DUI carrying up to a $1000 fine and a minimum of 10 days to a maximum of 1 year in the county jail as well as assessments and classes. For more information: Oklahoma DUI Penalties
If the person arrested has a prior deferred sentence for DUI after November 1.2011 or has had a prior DUI or APC conviction within the previous ten years of the new charge from a court of record, then the DUI arrestee may be charged with a felony DUI that carries up to a $2500 fine and a minimum of 1 year up to 5 years in the state penitentiary.
This being said, a skilled DUI attorney can examine your case and see if there are any weaknesses or errors that can lead to a dismissal of your case or possibly a probated sentence that doesn’t result in an Oklahoma DUI conviction.
The other issue with an Oklahoma DUI arrest is your Oklahoma driver’s license. Oklahoma DPS will attempt to suspend your license and this can be fought by requesting a hearing within 15 days of your arrest. For more information on Oklahoma Drivers license, visit Oklahoma Driver License/DUI
About the Author:
Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, John is the lead attorney with the Hunsucker Legal Group. The Hunsucker Legal Group is a multi-attorney firm defending over 300 DUI cases a year. John is a Director on the Board of the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyer’s Association and a Sustaining Member of the National College of DUI Defense.
Serving as Oklahoma’s NCDD State Delegate, John is also a Faculty Member of the National College for DUI Defense. John is one of only a few attorneys in the country that actually owns the Intoxilyzer 8000 and has instructed attorneys in the United States and Canada on the use and problems of the machine as well as other DUI defense subjects. John has co-authored 20 books on the subject of DUI Defense including Oklahoma DUI Defense, The Law and Practice (Lawyers and Judges Publishing).
John has been featured as a legal expert nationally on CourtTV’s Open Court with Lisa Bloom and CourtTV’s In Session with Ashleigh Banfield. Locally, he has appeared on every major news station in the Oklahoma City market and has been quoted in the Daily Oklahoman for his extensive knowledge of DUI law. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, John was selected as the Daily Oklahoman Reader’s Choice Best DUI Attorney.
John may be reached through his website, www.OKDUI.com or by telephone at 405-231-5600.
