If you have been charged with a felony, you should know that a felony conviction will result in very serious consequences for both you and your loved ones. If convicted of a felony in Oklahoma, you can be sentenced to time in a state penitentiary for a range of years and be ordered to pay stiff fines.
In addition, as a convicted felon, you will lose, amongst other things, the right to vote and you will face difficulty finding a job to support your family.
Thus, it is important that your felony defense be focused and effective in reducing the charges against you or the ultimate penalty you receive. Read further to find out the best strategies for defending a felony in Muskogee.
Preserve Your Innocence In Muskogee
Pursuant to the U. S. Constitution, all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is the prosecution’s burden to prove that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, the first strategy for defending a felony charge in Muskogee is to preserve your innocence.
This can be achieved by first using your constitutional rights to avoid giving the police any information that may incriminate you, to refuse to consent to any search of your body, home or property, and to be represented by an attorney at all stages of the criminal proceedings.
An Alibi
Another effective way of avoiding a felony in Muskogee is to offer an alibi to prove that you were in another place when the offense occurred, and thus could not have committed the crime. The prosecution must then prove otherwise. If the prosecutor fails to do this in the eyes of the judge or jury, the charges against you are likely to be dismissed.
Getting Your Charges Reduced
Some felony charges can be reduced to a misdemeanor charge, which will typically carry less severe penalties. If your attorney intervenes early with the state, there may be a possibility, depending on the severity of the circumstances and the proclivity of the judge, to have the charges against you reduced. For example, the seriousness of drug charges and the severity of punishment you receive is often dependent on the nature and amount of evidence against you. In another example, a charge of assault and battery may be charged as a misdemeanor or felony in Oklahoma, depending chiefly on whether or not someone suffered serious bodily harm as a result of the offense.
Deferred Sentence, Suspended Sentence and Downward Departures in Muskogee, Oklahoma
You may be able to avoid a felony conviction if you are eligible for a deferred sentence. This 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 to 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 conditions 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.
Low-cost Consultation: Muskogee Felony Defense Lawyer
The experienced Muskogee felony defense lawyers at Wirth Law Office – Muskogee bring a solid track record of successful felony defense work. Your liberty is worth defending. Let us use our knowledge and skills to protect your interests.
For a no cost, no obligation consultation with an experienced Muskogee felony defense attorney in the Wirth Law Office, call today at (918) 913-0725, or call toll-free at 1-(888) 947-8452 (Wirth Law). If you prefer, you can use the box in the upper right-hand corner of this page to send us a brief question or message.
