If you’re facing a domestic violence charge in Oklahoma City, you must act quickly to protect your rights and have the best chance of resolving this issue with a good outcome. Contact an Oklahoma City lawyer as soon as you are aware that charges are being brought against you. The consequences can change your life forever if you’re found guilty, and an experienced lawyer is your best hope for getting the charges dropped or lowered. If neither of these are possible, a lawyer will vigorously defend you in court.
What to Expect if You Are Charged With Domestic Violence in Oklahoma
Above all, you need to expect the police and the prosecutor’s office to be more interested in closing out the case and having you found guilty than anything else. Never expect either of these entities to tell you what your rights are or help you explore your options. Because that’s true, there are some things that you want to do to protect yourself.
Cooperate and Be Respectful
Even if someone is bringing an entirely false charge against you, you should still be cooperative and respectful, no matter how upset the situation may make you. It’s very likely the police are going to arrest you, and this will be traumatic, but the calmer you are and the more you cooperate, the better impression you leave. Beyond that, if you allow the situation to get you agitated, you may do something or say something that will harm you in the long run.
You might say something, for example, that the police will use against you later, either to argue that you did do what you’re being charged with or just to try and prove that you are an easily angered person, and thus you must be guilty of domestic violence. Or, they may take your lack of cooperation as resistance and file other charges beyond the domestic violence charges. These charges will have to be fought entirely on their own and can land you in jail even if you’re ultimately found totally innocent of the domestic violence charge.
If you’re polite and cooperative, on the other hand, your lawyer may even be able to use this on your behalf in court. If your lawyer can cross-examine the police involved in arresting you and force them to admit that in a high-stress situation you kept your cool and remained polite and restrained, they’re going to have a much harder time convincing a jury that you’re capable of violence.
Keep Quiet
While you should be cooperative and respectful, you should also never volunteer any information to the police. You have no obligation to answer any question they ask other than to give your name and basic demographic information. The police are very good at asking questions in a way that’s designed to get you to say something they can use against you, and even if you’ve told them that you don’t want to talk to them and wish to speak to a lawyer, they have ways of engaging in small talk that can be very effective in drawing you out. Make up your mind to ask for a lawyer and then say absolutely nothing.
Be aware that one of the most common police and prosecutor tactics here is to appear sympathetic. They might say things like, “Oh, you probably just shoved your partner; you didn’t hit her, right?” The point is to get you to admit that something happened; to get you to try to explain youself. Just remember that no matter how friendly they seem, these people are not on your side.
Call an Oklahoma City Lawyer
As soon as you are permitted to do so, contact a lawyer. Call someone with experience in criminal defense here in Oklahoma City. A lawyer with experience will know exactly what the local courts are like and will have worked with the prosecutors and the police many times. This gives you an advantage and is a great way to protect yourself. Once you’ve called a lawyer and are officially represented, the police can’t ask you any questions without your lawyer present.
Presume Someone’s Always Watching
If you are put in jail, bear in mind that everything you say, including everything that you say on the jail telephone, can be used against you. It’s common for people in this situation to call their families and start apologizing, but even if the only thing you want to apologize for is the inconvenience and worry that they’re going through because you’re being falsely accused, framed incorrectly that apology can still be used against you.
Beyond that, be careful about talking to any other inmates or to any guards, even if they appear friendly, and once you’re out, resist the urge to talk about the situation on social media or with anyone else, including family. Anything and everything you say can and will be used against you if possible.
Don’t Contact the “Victim”
Even if the charges against you are completely made up, such as if a bitter ex is just trying to get you in trouble, do not go see them once you get out of jail in an attempt to “work things out.” It’s very likely that the judge is going to issue emergency protective orders that will forbid you to come in contact with the victim and possibly even with other members of the victim’s family. You may not be allowed to visit or even call or text, and you should never violate this order.
It can be tough to keep to this order, and especially if you have children and obeying the order prevents you from seeing them; but in the long run, it will be better for both you and them if you follow the court’s orders to the letter. The best thing you can possibly do for yourself in this situation is to demonstrate that you pose no threat whatsoever. This will go a long way towards positioning you well before the court.
Understand the Reality of the Charges
Many defendants assume that, once charges are brought, everything is up to the victim. One of the reasons that defendants often contact victims is because they hope to convince them to drop the charges. It’s important that you understand the charges can’t be dropped in this way. Once they’ve been brought, the victim has no say. It’s the prosecutor who decides whether the case moves forward or the charges are dropped. Oklahoma prosecutors can be very aggressive on this issue and may bring numerous tactics to bear to try to force the victim to testify, even if they’ve changed their mind and no longer wish to.
The best way to deal with the situation is to hire an experienced lawyer and follow their advice. Your lawyer will properly prepare you for court, help you understand how best to defend yourself, gather evidence on your behalf, and engage in negotiations with the prosecutor. If the evidence is weak, and particularly if the victim doesn’t want to testify, your lawyer may be able to convince the prosecution to drop the charges entirely. But if not, it may be possible to plea bargain for a lower charge, say, from a felony to a misdemeanor.
If you’ve been charged with domestic assault, don’t wait to defend yourself. Contact Cannon & Associates in Oklahoma City right now so we can get to work defending you.