DUI Charges
What do you need to know about DUI charges in the Muscogee Creek Nation? My name is Ted Hasse. I practice law in federal and tribal courts in Oklahoma. I want to talk today about DUIs. These are fascinating cases because of the defendants that I end up having to represent in these kind of cases.
For any criminal defendant facing their first charge, the stakes are very high. This is one of the charges that people will face where they can have potentially not had any criminal conduct or problems their whole lives and then suddenly be tangled up with the criminal justice system and in custody. It’s DUIs that we see this happen. So you can be a law-abiding citizen, make some bad decisions on a Friday night or a Saturday night and find yourself in custody.
And then when this happens with Muscogee Creek Nation, it can be a special kind of trauma because they don’t have things lined up with the counties within the boundaries of the reservation to get these people processed and out very quickly. At this point, at the end of 2023, they still don’t have standard charges and standard bond amounts set with the counties by which defendants, when they come in, if they’re tribal, can just post that amount.
The Challenges Faced by Defendants
What’s still happening, just unbelievably, is otherwise law-abiding citizens who get picked up on the DUI, get brought in and are sometimes sitting for days in a county jail. And county jails are just not great. They’re not great anywhere. But importantly, here in Tulsa County, Creek County, Muscogee County, Okmulgee County, these are not nice places to be.
And for somebody who has not had experience with the criminal justice system, not had experience being in custody, it can be a shock. It can be a trauma. And then for family members who are feeling like there’s nothing that they can do to get their loved one out or running into problems with certain particular facilities like David L. Moss Detention Center in Tulsa, which is a special kind of mess in terms of their cooperation with Muscogee Creek Nation. It can just be significant trauma for detainees, for their family members.
Why You Need an Experienced Attorney
These DUI cases, it is essential that when you have retained counsel, you have somebody who has a lot of experience with these types of cases and a lot of experience dealing with them. In the nation, there are special defenses that can be applied that some retained counsel are just simply not presenting or not considering when they’re reviewing evidence.
You’re going to want to make sure that when you retain counsel, that you’re not just picking up any attorney or any DUI attorney. You want to make sure you’re getting an attorney who has experience in the specific court that you’re in, particularly with Muscogee Creek Nation. I am one of those lawyers. I spend a lot of time in Muscogee Creek Nation. I’m there every week. I have extensive experience working with defendants and finding the best resolutions.
Contact Us for a Low-cost Consultation
Certainly, the best resolution in a DUI case is important and certainly would want to make sure that you go out, find the best attorney you can, find good retained counsel. Again, my name is Ted Hasse. I can help you with this. I can help you navigate this process. Certainly, whether you’re still in custody, family member is in custody, we can help you get that resolved. Or you’re out of custody and you’re looking at your defenses and looking at your options, we can help you there.
I can be reached at (918) 947-6552 for a initial consultation.
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