Criminal Defense

Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to take jurisdiction on a case addressing a DUI related issue: whether, in the absence of a warrant, a state may make it a crime for a person to refuse to take a chemical test to detect the presence of alcohol in the person’s blood. Approximately two years ago, the Supreme Court addressed whether…Read More

A news story was making the headlines recently, where a New York woman had her DUI case dismissed based on her defense of Auto-Brewery Syndrome. Auto–brewery syndrome, also known as gut fermentation syndrome, is a rare medical condition in which intoxicating quantities of ethanol are produced through endogenous fermentation within the digestive system. In the case of the New York woman, she…Read More

Traffic ticket fines vary throughout Oklahoma, differing by court, county and municipality. Most of the time, the ticket fine will be noted on the citation. However, if you do not see a fine, a court appearance will likely be required. When a person has been issued a traffic ticket in Tulsa, they have two options: pay the ticket and plead…Read More

Criminal records available to the public can be much more than embarrassing. A criminal record can keep you from getting a job, renting housing, as well as certain public benefits. For some, having an Oklahoma criminal record expunged can have a big impact on their life. In Oklahoma, an expungement refers to the sealing of a criminal arrest or conviction…Read More

Even if an Oklahoma police officer stops a motorist on a bogus charge, the driver must submit to the officer. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals addressed this issue in a ruling handed down September 18, 2015. State v. Nelson, 2015 OK CR 10.[1] Nathan Charles Nelson was stopped for Failure to Signal a left hand turn on March 19, 2014.…Read More

In May, we posted regarding the bill signed by the Governor to ban Texting While Driving in Oklahoma. The law will become effective November 1, 2015. The law will make it unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle on any street or highway within this state while using a hand-held electronic communication device to manually compose, send or read an electronic text message while the motor…Read More

Oklahoma recently joined several other states to enact what are referred to as narcotic “per se” DUI, or metabolite DUI standards. The new law added the underlined section below, which expanded the ways in which a person can be arrested and charged with DUI in Oklahoma: It is unlawful and punishable as provided in this section for any person to…Read More

In past weeks, we have discussed the three types of field sobriety tests sanctioned by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that comprise the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) administered by officers following a Tulsa DUI stop: the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the one-leg stand test, and the walk-and-turn test. This week, we will examine the one-leg stand test in greater detail. When…Read More

In past weeks, we have discussed the three types of field sobriety tests sanctioned by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that comprise the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST): the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the one-leg stand test, and the walk-and-turn test. This week, we will examine the Walk and Turn test in greater detail. When a person is pulled over…Read More