Being charged with a DUI in Okmulgee County isn’t as straightforward as it might seem and there are a lot of complexities that may leave you feeling overwhelmed. In this article, we’ll cover what you can generally expect after being arrested for a DUI, including types of plea offers and probation. Remember, there is no guarantee that your case will be handled a certain way, but there are a few things you can expect if you have been charged with a DUI in Okmulgee County.
Types of Probation: Common DUI Plea Offers
The prosecutor holds all the power when it comes to the details of your plea offer, so there is no certainty that you’ll receive a specific deal. However, we can share our historical knowledge on what plea deals normally look like with DUIs in Okmulgee County, so you can be prepared for what to expect in your case.
After you are charged, the prosecutor will look at your case and determine what they think is an appropriate plea offer based on the surrounding circumstances. There are numerous factors that will shape what your plea offer looks like: what prosecutor handles your case, your criminal history, your blood alcohol content (BAC), if the DUI resulted in an accident, and whether you have already completed your required DUI classes.
If you do not have any criminal history, you’ll probably be offered an 18-month deferred sentence. This sentence provides an automatic partial expungement upon successful completion of your probation. In order to be successful on probation, you must complete EVERYTHING required in your plea agreement, including all DUI classes (which are always included with a DUI plea offer). If you take these classes prior to plea, Okmulgee County will often shorten your probation period from an 18-month to 12-month deferred sentence.
If you have a criminal history, but do not have a prior DUI, you will most likely be offered a 12-month suspended sentence. Technically, a suspended sentence is a jail term that is suspended from jail time to probation. While a suspended sentence can be split with a jail term, that is uncommon on a first-time DUI in Okmulgee county. Unlike a deferred sentence, a suspended sentence does not come with an automatic partial expungement. This does not prevent you from obtaining a full expungement when your case becomes eligible.
If you had a prior DUI within the last 10 years, your case will be filed as a felony DUI. There is a much larger range of sentencing and probation requirements with a felony DUI, making it difficult to predict what your plea offer will look like in this instance.
If you had a prior DUI over 10 years ago, your case will be filed as a misdemeanor DUI and you will most likely be offered a 12-month suspended sentence. The prosecutor may add some jail time to your probation if you had multiple prior DUIs before that 10-year threshold.
Standard Probation Requirements for DUIs
Regardless of the type of probation you receive, the below requirements will be included on all plea offers you receive from the State.
Drug and Alcohol Assessment
A drug and alcohol assessment is included on every DUI plea offer. A certified assessor will interview you to ask a series of questions regarding your use of both legal and illegal substances. The assessor will consider your answers, as well as how honest they believe you are being, and make personalized recommendations to help you avoid abusing these substances. In some instances, you may not have any recommendations other than the DUI course assigned to everyone. If you are given any individualized recommendations, you are required to complete them as part of your probation, and failure to do so may result in a probation violation.
Victims Impact Panel
All Okmulgee County plea offers also require your participation in a court-approved victims impact panel. You will attend a meeting where victims of drunk driving talk about how impaired driving affected their lives. The victims will have different experiences—some have been injured by an impaired driver themselves, and others who were the impaired driver who now have to live with the guilt of taking someone else’s life.
ADSAC
Your plea deal will also include an Alcohol and Drug Substance Abuse Course (ADSAC), otherwise known as a “DUI class.” Depending on your individual case, you will either be required to complete a 10-hour or 24-hour ADSAC within 6 months of obtaining your drug and alcohol assessment. You must complete your drug and alcohol assessment first.
And if you wait more than 6 months between your drug and alcohol assessment and your ADSAC course, you will be required to redo your assessment to begin your ADSAC classes.
DA Check-in
It’s also a certainty that you will be required to check in with the Okmulgee County DA supervision office. This check-in will look different depending on your case and how strict the DA supervision office is. In some instances, you can check in over the phone.
Other supervision offices will require you to provide urine analysis tests to prove you are staying sober while on probation. It is important to talk with the DA supervision office at the beginning of your probation to ensure you understand their expectations and meet all of them.
Community Service
Almost every plea in Okmulgee County will require community service. The amount of community service hours you are assigned can vary greatly between cases, and is dependent on your criminal history, how quickly you plead, and the facts of your case. There are many types of community service, and the Okmulgee County DA probation office will accommodate any disabilities when assigning your community service, whether they are physical or mental disabilities.
You also have to pay a community service fine (around $35/month) until it is completed. The faster you finish all of your community service, the less you’ll have to pay in associated fines.
Fines and Fees
Every criminal plea comes with fines and fees. In Okmulgee County, most misdemeanor cases come with a $300 fine and $150 victims compensation fund fine. Many people are confused by the victims compensation fund fee if their DUI didn’t have a victim. However, this fee is not designed to compensate individual victims in your specific case. It is required on all criminal cases and goes to a larger victims fund that is distributed to vicitm’s when necessary for services such as counseling.
In addition to these fees, you will need to pay DA supervision fees and court costs. The DA supervision fees are around $50 a month and compensate the office for “supervising” you while on probation. The court costs are those costs that the court accrues for processing your case. All court cases are assigned court costs. If the State dismisses your case, they often pay the court costs. If you plead guilty, you must pay these court costs and they can easily reach thousands of dollars.
New Criminal Charges
The most important requirement is that you cannot get any new charges while on probation. Even a traffic ticket is considered a violation of probation. While the Okmulgee County DA supervision office will not likely violate you for a traffic ticket, they legally can.
Breathalyzer
Installing a breathalyzer in your car is typically only a plea requirement if you are charged with aggravated DUI (BAC of .15 or higher). The breathalyzer is the only additional requirement for an aggravated DUI while on probation.
If you are using a breathalyzer for the Impaired Driver Accountability Program (IDAP) with DPS, it has no bearing on your criminal case.
The Bottom Line
If you have been charged with a DUI in Okmulgee County, your probation will have a long list of obligations and things to avoid. It can be hard to keep track of every class, payment, and probation requirement, so it is important to find an attorney who can break down everything you need to do. If you have been charged with a DUI in Okmulgee County, contact us for a free consultation on your case.