As states across the country soften their approach to drugs with regard to drug possession laws and resources spent on enforcing existing drug possession and trafficking laws, Oklahoma has remained one of the strictest states in the country when it comes to putting...
In late August, Oklahoma's Attorney General Scott Pruitt submitted a ballot title to have a vote on legalizing medical marijuana in Oklahoma placed on the 2016 ballot. Pruitt's action was based on a pro-marijuana advocacy group getting 67,000 signatures on its...
When a disagreement turns hostile, and someone ends up injured (or at least claims to be injured), the police can get called in and you might end up facing criminal charges for your alleged acts. What crime the prosecutors decide to charge you with can make a huge...
A recent editorial in The Oklahoman pointed out a problem that we in the Oklahoma criminal defense bar have known all too well for years: our state is putting more people away in prisons for longer periods of time, and causing an enormous increase in the state's...
With medical marijuana sweeping the nation, and even recreational marijuana becoming legal in our neighboring state Colorado, it is understandable that some people may be confused about the current state of marijuana laws in Oklahoma. Making matters more confusing is...
One of the hallmarks of the American criminal justice system is the development of what is called the Exclusionary Rule: the legal principle that says that evidence obtained by the police through unconstitutional actions should not be admitted at trial against a...
If you have not heard of the concept of "civil asset forfeiture," you can consider yourself lucky that you haven't had to suffer the ill effects of this highly questionable law enforcement practice. Civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to take property from...
The topic of "mandatory minimums" - or mandatory minimum criminal sentences - has gotten a lot of attention in the news lately. President Obama even made history in Oklahoma last year by becoming the first sitting president to visit a prison when he came to the El...
When you think of investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), you might think of Wall Street kingpins like Bernie Madoff and Michael Milken, but the SEC's investigatory process takes them far beyond Manhattan. In 1983, Oklahoma's own legendary...
A new law passed by the Oklahoma legislature and signed into law by Governor Fallin will toughen the penalties that DUI defendants will face if convicted. HB 3146 - the "Impaired Driving Elimination Act" - will make it easier for courts to impose longer sentences and...
