A DUI driving record in Oklahoma City can cast a long shadow over your life, affecting your ability to get employment and housing and coming with some serious social stigma. A DUI lawyer in OKC will help you fight a DUI charge, and, if you already have one on your record, can talk with you about whether expungement might be possible in your situation, to give you a fresh start.
Impact of a DUI Driving Record in OKC
You probably already know that there are immediate legal consequences to being charged with a DUI. What many people don’t realize is that there can be some profound long-term consequences if you are convicted, and if that conviction stays on your record. Here’s a few ways you can be affected:
In Your Employment
Many employers conduct background checks, and a DUI can appear as a red flag, especially for positions requiring driving, operating machinery, or involving trust and responsibility. This can limit job opportunities or even lead to job loss if your employer has strict policies against criminal records.
Certain professions, like nursing, law, or teaching, may be off-limits to you completely. The licensing bodies for these professions are very reluctant to offer licensure to anyone with a criminal record, including DUIs. A DUI might be considered evidence of a lack of moral character or reliability, even where there is no specific policy saying that someone with a DUI conviction can’t licensed.
Financially
There will be immediate financial consequences if you’re convicted. You’re going to be paying fines, court costs, possibly restitution, and possibly have to pay for things like an interlock device to be installed on your car. All of these costs can run well into thousands of dollars.
But the financial consequences don’t stop there. Post-conviction, auto insurance premiums can skyrocket because the individual is now categorized as a high-risk driver. This increase can last for several years. And if the conviction leads to job loss, or you spend time in jail, there’s a direct loss of income. Additionally, time spent in court, jail, or in mandatory programs means less time for work.
Socially
There’s a significant social stigma associated with a DUI that can easily lead to strained relationships with your family, friends, or members of the community, who might start looking at you differently. On top of that, the stress of dealing with all the legal issues, the financial strain, and social ostracization can lead to anxiety, depression, or exacerbate substance abuse issues.
Legally
A common penalty for a DUI in Oklahoma is the suspension of your driving privileges, which complicates daily life. From commuting to work to performing basic errands, everything just got harder in an instant.
A DUI conviction is a type of criminal record, which is public and can affect things like your right to possess firearms, depending on the severity of the conviction. Plus, if you have already been convicted once, subsequent offenses after the first DUI become much more severe. You will likely be looking at felony charges.
Educationally
Some educational institutions will reconsider admissions or financial aid for students with criminal records, including DUIs, and many scholarships have character or conduct requirements that exclude those with a DUI.
Housing
Landlords often perform background checks, and while a DUI might not automatically disqualify you, combined with other factors it could make a landlord perceive you as untrustworthy and make securing housing more challenging.
How to Avoid a Conviction: Your Oklahoma City DUI Attorney
Obviously, the best thing is to not have a DUI conviction on your driving record at all. The best way to have any hope of avoiding a DUI driving record is to contact an Oklahoma City criminal defense lawyer who has experience defending people against DUI charges.
An experienced lawyer will know the laws and the courts, as well as every option available to defend you. A lawyer can aggressively challenge the evidence, from the legality of the stop to the accuracy of any tests that were administered. And a lawyer can also work to get you a deferred sentence or otherwise minimize the effect of the DUI, not only in the immediate penalties but also in the long-term effect on your record.
What Is Expungement?
Expungement means that your DUI arrest or conviction record is sealed from the public. Once a record has been expunged, you can legally say that the incident did not happen, in most situations (under specific circumstances, law enforcement can still access these records for investigative purposes).
Without expungement, a DUI remains on your Oklahoma DPS driving record for 10 years, and it stays on your criminal record indefinitely. A DUI generates records in three areas: on your driving record, in an arrest record, and in the court records. Each of these areas requires separate steps for expungement, with different eligibility criteria for each.
DUI Expungement Process in Oklahoma
Partial Expungement
If you’ve gotten a deferred sentence, you might be eligible for a partial expungement. After successfully completing the terms of your probation, your plea will change to not guilty, and your case will be dismissed. However, this does not automatically remove the arrest record; you must file separately for this type of expungement.
Full Expungement
A full expungement erases the entire criminal record related to the DUI, treating the incident as if it never occurred at all. Your eligibility for this will depend on what you were charged with.
Misdemeanor Expungement
For example, if you were charged with a misdemeanor DUI and received a deferred sentence, you’re allowed to apply for full expungement a year after you finish your deferred sentence. This is only applicable if you have no other felony convictions and no other pending charges. If your DUI was a misdemeanor with a suspended sentence or jail time, you have to wait until five years after the end of your sentence to apply for a full expungement, and you must have no felony convictions or any pending charges at any time during these five years.
If you ended up with only a fine and a misdemeanor DUI, which is not common, and if your fine was less than $500, then you can apply for full expungement right away. If you had to pay a fine of more than $500, you have to wait five years before you can apply for a full expungement.
Felony Expungement
If you were charged with a felony DUI and got a deferred sentence, you can apply for a full expungement five years after sentence completion If your sentence was suspended, or you spent time in jail, you can still apply five years after your sentence is over, but to be eligible, you must not have had any other convictions in the last seven years and no prior felony convictions before the felony DUI.
In some rare cases, even a prior felony conviction may not bar you from getting a full expungement, but it must not have been a violent felony or one that required you to register as a sex offender, and it must’ve been at least 10 years since the conviction.
There is no guarantee of a full expungement, but your chances are always better when you work with a qualified lawyer. Whether you’re trying to keep a DUI off your record or looking to expunge one, always talk with a lawyer. Contact Cannon & Associates today for experienced and compassionate help.