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    • Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm

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    • Jerome Hutchinson

    Jerome Hutchinson Avatar

    felony defenseBeing charged with a felony in Tulsa, Oklahoma is a serious circumstance. In addition to a prison sentence and stiff fines, a person charged with a felony in Oklahoma risks the loss of certain civil rights, such as the right to use, own or possess a firearm, the right to sit on a jury and the right to vote.

    Furthermore, if convicted of a felony in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a person will face severe employment consequences and will likely be unable to get licensed in any type of profession or obtain any position that involves the handling of money.

    Felony Defense Strategies in Tulsa

    The first strategy for defending a felony charge in Tulsa, Oklahoma is to convincingly establish your innocence, or at least cast doubt on the evidence against you. Remember, it is the prosecution’s job to convince the jury of your guilt, beyond a reasonable doubt. If the prosecutor fails to do this in the eyes of the judge or jury, you are likely to be found not guilty. If you cannot sufficiently establish your innocence or cast doubt on the state’s case against you, there are still a number of other things that your defense attorney can do to help your felony defense in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    Reducing Your Charges in Tulsa, Oklahoma

    First, and most importantly, your attorney may be able to intervene early with the state attorney’s office to reduce the felony charges against you. Just because you have been charged with a particular offense doesn’t mean that the state has to proceed on those charges. If your attorney intervenes early with the state, there may be a possibility, depending on the facts and circumstances of your case, that the felony charge can be reduced to a misdemeanor. There may even be a chance to convince the state’s attorney to drop all of the charges against you.

    Deferred Sentence, Suspended Sentence, and Downward Departures in Tulsa, Oklahoma

    You may be able to avoid a felony conviction if you are eligible for a deferred sentence. This method of felony defense means that, given your limited criminal history, the state’s attorney agrees to dismiss the charges against you if you plead guilty and agree to attend certain programs or complete certain requirements. If you successfully meet the requirements after having your sentence deferred, you will avoid a felony conviction and the consequences thereof.

    If you cannot qualify for a deferred sentence, you may still be eligible for a suspended sentence, whereby you plead guilty to the felony charge and the judge agrees to postpone your sentence pending your compliance with certain conditions. If you fully comply with the condition set forth by the judge, you will not have to serve time behind bars, even though you have been convicted.

    If all else fails, you may also be eligible for a downward departure where, based on certain legal principles or mitigating factors, your attorney convinces the judge to sentence you to a lower minimum sentence than that which is required by the law.

    Expunge Your Criminal Record in Tulsa, Oklahoma

    Finally, if have successfully completed the terms of a suspended or deferred sentence, or have had your charges reduced to a misdemeanor or dropped entirely, you may later be able to expunge your criminal record and get rid of any evidence of ever having been charged with a felony. This felony defense strategy will allow you to avoid any further social stigma associated with having been charged with or convicted of committing a felony, and you can avoid the negative effect it may have had on future employment, professional or educational opportunities.

    Confidential Consultation: Felony Defense Lawyer

    If you’ve been arrested for any felony in Tulsa or the surrounding Oklahoma counties, you need a Tulsa Felony Defense Lawyer who can provide skillful, aggressive and compassionate assistance to your specific case.

    Simply call our team at Wirth Law Office – Tulsa at 918-256-3400 for a initial, no-hassle confidential consultation.

    If you prefer a felony defense attorney on our team to call you or reach you by email, click here to ask your questions via the online consultation request form.

    Jerome Hutchinson Avatar

    Tulsa misdemeanor defenseIn  order to provide you with a better understanding of misdemeanor defense in Tulsa, here is a basic outline of how misdemeanors are dealt with in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

    Pre-trial Investigation in Tulsa

    In Oklahoma, a misdemeanor may be prosecuted in either a state or municipal court. But the process often begins even before you are arrested or charged with a crime.

    At this stage, which is referred to as pre-arrest investigation, the police will gather information regarding the case and often attempt to obtain a statement from you, in order to determine if there is indeed cause to proceed with charges. If, at that time, it is determined that there is cause, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

    Your Arrest

    If there is no pre-trial investigation, your case will begin when you are arrested and booked. At this stage, you will be physically taken into custody on a misdemeanor charge, photographed, fingerprinted and placed in a cell; or, depending on the nature of the charge against you, you may released and given a date to return to court for your arraignment.

    Certain crimes, such as shoplifting, do not require the police to take you into custody, and you may simply be issued a ticket and released with a date to show up in court to be arraigned.

    The Arraignment

    The arraignment is the first time you will come before a judge. During this stage, you will appear in court, where the judge explains the charges that the prosecutor has brought against you and sets your bond, if it has not already been set. You will then enter a plea of not guilty, and you will be given a date for your next appearance in court.

    If you have retained the service of a Tulsa misdemeanor defense attorney prior to your arraignment, he or she can appear in court to answer to the charges on your behalf without the need for you to be present.

    Discovery Request

    After you have been arraigned, your attorney is allowed to make a discovery request to receive all of the information the police have compiled in support of the prosecution’s charges against you. This includes the police report and any witness testimony that the police have obtained.

    Once your attorney receives this information, he or she will have a better idea of the strength of the prosecutor’s case against you and can plan your defense accordingly.

    Jury Trial Sounding (JTS) Docket or Conference Docket

    The next stage in the Oklahoma misdemeanor process is the Jury Trial Sounding (JTS) Docket or Conference docket. Here your Tulsa misdemeanor defense attorney and the prosecutor will begin negotiations to settle the case by means of a plea bargain, whereby you will be given the option to plead guilty to the charges against you in exchange for having your charges or sentence reduced. Many misdemeanor cases are settled at this stage without the need for a trial. However, if no plea bargain is made at this stage, the case will proceed on to a discovery hearing.

    Discovery Hearing

    At the discover hearing, which must take place ten days before the jury trial, the prosecution and your Tulsa misdemeanor defense attorney will disclose whether or not they have exchanged discovery, which must include all police reports, witness testimony and recorded evidence.

    The Trial

    Ten days after your discovery hearing, you will be tried before a jury of six citizens (as opposed to twelve for a felony case) who must all agree on a verdict.

    All Americans who have been charged with a crime enjoy the constitutional right to 1) be tried before a jury 2) be represented by an attorney 3) cross examine any witness who testifies against them and 4) be presumed innocent before being found guilty. Furthermore, the prosecution has the burden of proving your guilt beyond a reasonable of doubt.

    Initial Consultation: Tulsa Misdemeanor Defense Lawyer

    If you’ve been arrested for a misdemeanor in Tulsa or any of the surrounding Oklahoma counties, it’s time to reach out to a team that knows how to handles these types of cases. That’s why you need a Tulsa Misdemeanor Defense Lawyer who can provide knowledgeable assistance in your case.

    Simply call our team at the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm at (918) 256-3400 for a no-hassle, confidential consultation. If you prefer the Tulsa Misdemeanor Defense Lawyer to call you or reach you by email, click here to ask your questions via the online consultation request 

    Jerome Hutchinson Avatar

    felony DUIA felony conviction in Oklahoma can have serious consequences on the rest of your life, the most of obvious of which is that you can be sentenced to incarceration in a state penitentiary for many years. But even if you don’t serve jail time, a felony conviction can have devastating effects on your personal life, in terms of your ability to find employment, rent property and do business with banks, among other things. For this reason, one of the most frequent questions asked by a person charged with a DUI in Oklahoma is whether or not a DUI is a felony in in the state Oklahoma.

    The simple answer is that a DUI a can be either a misdemeanor or a felony in Oklahoma.

    Felony DUI in Oklahoma

    Normally, a first DUI in Oklahoma is a misdemeanor, but there are four general instances in which a DUI offense can become a felony DUI:

    1. If you have a second DUI in a 10 year period, the second DUI may be classified as felony DUI.

    1. If you have a DUI that results in substantial bodily injury or the death of another person, that DUI may be charged as a felony DUI.

    1. If your current DUI is the third or subsequent offense, it will be classified as a felony DUI.

    1. If you have a child in the car at the time of your DUI offense, you may be charged with a felony DUI.

    The penalties for a felony DUI are more severe than for a misdemeanor DUI. If you are convicted of a felony DUI in Oklahoma, you will face one or more the following consequences:

    • a suspension of your driver’s license.

    • a minimum of one year and up to twenty years in a state penitentiary.

    • up to $5000 in fines.

    • mandatory alcohol and drug treatment.

    • community service.

    • an ignition interlock device placed on your car for up to eight years.

    The severity of the penalties you receive for a felony DUI conviction in Oklahoma will depend on a number of different factors, among them:

    • Any prior alcohol related offenses (DUI, DWI, DUI-D or APC) on your record.

    • Your blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of the offense.

    • Whether or not your DUI resulted in an accident.

    • Whether or not your DUI resulted in serious bodily injury to another person.

    • Whether or not your case was filed in a municipal or district court.

    • Whether or not you had a child in the car at the time of your offense.

    • What judge hears your case.

    Initial Consultation: Tulsa DUI Attorney

    If you’ve been arrested for a DUI in Oklahoma, it’s time to reach out to a team that knows how the police and prosecutors in Tulsa operate. Just because you’ve been arrested doesn’t mean you don’t have rights. That’s why you need a Tulsa DUI Attorney who can provide skillful assistance in your case.

    Simply call our team at the Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm at (918) 256-3400 for a no-hassle, confidential consultation. If you prefer the Tulsa DUI attorney to call you or reach you by email, click here to ask your questions via the online consultation request form.

    Jerome Hutchinson Avatar

    appeal a guilty pleaThe majority of criminal cases do not go to trial. Most often, the defendant is convicted after he enters a guilty plea, in other words, after he admits to committing the crime in exchange for some favorable treatment, such as the guarantee of a lighter sentence or punishment. Subsequently, the plea is approved by a judge, and the defendant is sentenced and the case is technically over.

    What is required to appeal a guilty plea?

    As a rule of thumb, every defendant found guilty of a crime has an automatic right to appeal his conviction, even if the conviction is the result of entering a guilty plea.

    However, it is much more difficult to successfully appeal a guilty plea. This is due to the fact that, in pleading guilty, you are acknowledging that you committed the offense, and unless the the prosecutor or judge made some error in advising you of the consequences of pleading guilty, you were aware of and consented to the consequences of pleading guilty. In other words, you were fully aware of the choice you were making when you pled guilty and should have nothing to protest.

    Upon what grounds can I appeal a guilty plea?

    Usually, when an offender desires to appeal a guilty plea, the appellant asserts that the conviction is invalid because the plea was entered involuntarily, or without being fully aware of what he or she was doing because he or she was not properly informed of the consequences by either the prosecutor or the judge.

    To appeal a guilty plea on these grounds will be difficult, but it might be successful if you can show that:

    • The judge failed to inform you of certain rights you would be waiving by pleading guilty, such as the right to a jury trial.
    • You plead guilty under threat of violence to you or your loved ones, and thus your plea was involuntary or coerced.
    • The prosecution tricked you into pleading guilty by promising you things it could not deliver, such as a promise of a reduced sentenced when mandatory minimum sentence requirements will not allow this.
    • The prosecution failed to deliver on promises it made you to convince you to plead guilty; for example, they may have promised to drop certain charges against you if you plead guilt and, afterwards, proceeded with those charges anyway.

    What happens if my appeal is successful?

    In most cases, if you are successful in appealing your guilty plea, the appellate court will either order you to be retried on the original criminal charges where you may have a new opportunity to enter a plea bargain with the state prosecutor, or the court may order that a new sentencing hearing be held, where the sentence you were given will be modified according to the terms of your plea bargain.

    Confidential Consultation: Tulsa, Oklahoma Appellate Lawyer

    Appealing a guilty plea in Tulsa, Oklahoma is a complex procedure, and there are strict rules that must be followed. For this reason, it is important that you be represented by a knowledgeable Oklahoma appellate attorney who can give you the best possible chance of succeeding. Contact your defense team at Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm today for a initial, confidential consultation.

    A Tulsa, Oklahoma appellate lawyer can advise you on how the appeal process works and offer answers to your specific questions. To begin your low-cost initial strategy session, call now: (918) 256-3400. Or, if you prefer a Tulsa appellate lawyer on our  team to call you or reach you by email, click here to ask your questions via the easy to fill-out online consultation request form.

    Jerome Hutchinson Avatar

    drug chargeA drug charge is serious business. Oklahoma has some of the stiffest penalties for drug crimes in the country. When you’re facing an arrest for a drug charge in Tulsa, it is critical to contact an experienced attorney immediately.

    Defending a Drug Charge in Tulsa, Oklahoma

    After you are formally charged, your attorney will analyze a number of different factors and determine how best to defend the charges against you. What follows is a number of different strategies that are typically used to defend a drug charge in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The strategy that your attorney employs in your particular case may differ.

    Motion to Suppress Evidence

    This defense is used whenever there is reason to believe that the police violated the rights of the defendant and performed an illegal search or seizure to obtain evidence. A successful motion to suppress evidence can render any evidence seized in this manner inadmissible and result in the charges against the defendant being dismissed.

    Negotiating a Lesser Charge

    Even in cases where it is uncertain if the officers actually violated the defendant’s rights, the threat that the court might rule to suppress the evidence may motivate the prosecuting attorney enough to consider reducing the charge against the defendant, rather than risk losing the case. This result is often acceptable to the defense, especially if it avoids a mandatory prison sentence for the defendant.

    Furthermore, there are times when the defendant may be able to avoid a conviction altogether if he or she is drug dependent and might benefit from a drug treatment program.  In these cases, the course may be willing to give the defendant a sort of probation with mandatory drug treatment without entering a guilty verdict.

    Initial Consultation: Tulsa Drug Crimes Lawyer

    When you’re facing a drug charge in the Tulsa area, it’s time to retain a Tulsa criminal attorney who will look out for your legal interests. Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm’s criminal defense skills can provide you certainty that you have a knowledgeable, relentless advocate at your side in any courtroom in the state of Oklahoma. Contact our defense team at Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm today for a initial, confidential consultation .

    A Tulsa Drug Crimes Lawyer can advise you how the criminal justice process works and offer answers to your specific legal questions. To begin your low-cost initial strategy session, call now: (918) 256-3400.

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    • Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm Practice Areas

      tulsa ok criminal defense attorney

      500 W. 7th St, Ste. 114

      Tulsa, OK 74119

      Tulsa Criminal Defense Law Firm offers counsel and representation for most criminal defense matters, in Tulsa and the surrounding counties. The skilled defense team can represent you before charges are filed, during investitations or arrests, before trial, at trial, through the appeals process, and if necessary in any probation or parole processes.

      If you don't see your specific need listed here, call us. If we can't help we'll most likely know someone who can help with a unique criminal matter.