Oklahoma City Drunk Driving Defense Lawyer Your Best Defense Podcast

Jacqui Ford, Jacquelyn Ford Law, P.C.: Welcome to Your Best Defense podcast. My name is Jacqui Ford, and we’re talking today about DUIs, DWIs, and what Oklahoma calls actual physical control. These are all crimes that you could be facing if you engage in an activity including drinking and driving.

There is a huge misconception in this world about what is legal, and what is not legal. There’s no law that says you cannot have a drink, and then drive a car. The law says you cannot drive a car while impaired or under the influence of alcohol. What does that mean in application?

Well, real briefly, we have three different types of drunk-driving in Oklahoma. The first one is DWI. We don’t see a whole lot of DWI charges because it’s a very limited number of folks. DWI stands for driving while intoxicated, and it’s something less than DUI. It generally applies when your blood alcohol content 0.05 to 0.07. So, it’s less than the mandatory requirement for DUI which is a 0.08 blood alcohol content. But it’s something greater than, “I’ve had a drink, and I got in the car.”

So, DWI is the first charge that you might see when dealing with DUI charges in the state in Oklahoma. Although, it’s not applied as often, it is certainly a nice benefit for individuals who were charged with DUI, and the scientific evidence comes back and says maybe they weren’t. It carries pretty much the same range of punishment. The consequences for probation are pretty much the same.

So, we’ll kind of skip over DWI for those purposes, and talk about what most of us know to be drunk driving in Oklahoma. It’s called driving under the influence – DUI. Sometimes, referred to as a ‘dewey.’ DUI simply means that you are driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, law enforcement believes that either by scientific evidence, or subjective evidence of their observations, that you’re body is under the influence, and therefore, you’re not safe to drive.

The range of punishment for DUI in Oklahoma is very great. Much like some of our other charges, like possession of marijuana, and domestic violence that we’ve talked about in the past. Your first time DUI is almost always treated as a misdemeanor, unless it has some aggravating characteristic. So, most folks first-time DUI is a misdemeanor. The range of punishment is a mandatory 10 days in the county jail, up to a year, and up to a $1000 fine.

Many people think about DUIs and they realize that a lot of their friends and family members have them. It has a very morally unsound connotation. And judges are harsh on DUIs. And prosecutors are harsh on DUIs. And our legislature, as we speak right now, are trying to make DUI charges and convictions enhanceable so that people will be charge with felonies in a quicker, more efficient way. So, they can be very, very dangerous. They’re also one of the most common crimes we commit, and also one of the safest crimes to commit.

What you have to know, if you’ve been charged with a DUI, or you’re being arrested for a DUI, is how to interact with law enforcement, and what to expect moving forward. So, if you’re pulled over, and you’ve had a few drinks, and you know that the police officer’s going to ask you a serious of questions. My first advice to folks is you’re not require to answer any of their questions. You’re only required to give your driver’s license and insurance verification. And if you can find a polite, respectful way to decline other questions, that’s my first piece of advice.

You have a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. I strongly encourage that you use it. And you can do it in a simple way as saying, “Officer, I do not wish to engage in consensual contact, and answer any of your questions at this time.” That sounds a lot easier said than done. We want to engage with law enforcement, and we want to answer their questions, and they know that. They’re banking on the fact that we’re going to