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Am I going to go to prison?
Most cases are resolved with plea agreements and never proceed to trial. Mr. Adams is an experienced trial lawyer with a track record of good results with tough cases. However, most people facing criminal charges want to work out the best plea agreement they can and move on with their lives.
The majority of people facing criminal charges in Oklahoma can avoid prison simply by hiring a lawyer, working out a reasonable plea agreement and following the conditions of their probation. However, this depends on the offense, the criminal history of the person accused and the strength of the prosecution's case.
Defendants that are least likley to face Incarceration
First Time Offenders Facing Non-Violent State Charges
It is unusual for someone without a criminal history to be sentenced to incarceration for a non-violent state offense. (Any offense listed in Title 21 O.S. Section 13.1 requires someone to serve 85% of the time in Oklahoma and is not considered non-violent.)
This is generally true whether or not the person is facing misdemeanor or felony charges and is especially true when the offense is a “Property Crime”.
People Charged with Property Crimes
People accussed of property crimes in state court are the least likely to go to prison. If someone is accussed of embezzlement, shop lifting, theft, malcious injury to property, bogus checks, grand larceny or similar crimes there is a real good possibility that they can avoid prison, even if they have been in trouble in the past. The Oklahoma state prison system is too overcrowded to lock up property crime offenders unless those offenders refuse to stop committing crimes.
People Who Are Employed and Charged with Non-Violent Offenses
Employed people are less likely to be charged with a crime than an unemployed person. It is also easier to convince a district attorney and if necessary a judge, that the person is a good candidate for probation. If a person is gainfully employed, supporting a family, paying child support and generally contributing to society in some fashion, they are easier to keep out of prison as long as they are not violent.
Types of Probation in Oklahoma
There are two (2) types of probation in Oklahoma supervised and unsupervised. With supervised probation it can either be supervised by the Oklahoma Department of Correction (DOC Probation) or the District Attorney's Office (DA Supervision). DA Supervision is much better for defendants than DOC Supervision.
DOC Probation
With DOC Probation most defendants are required to meet with their probation officer every month, the probation officer may visit them at their home or place of employment and the are frequently drug tested.
DA Supervision
DA Supervision is generally much easier than DOC Probation, but this can vary by county. For most defendants in most counties they are not required to take drug test, the probation officer never visists the defendant at their home or work and defendants do not have to report to the probation office.
Rogers County and Mayes County are big exceptions to the lack of drug testing for probationers.
An example of the DOC Supervision form used in Tulsa County is displayed below. Below that is the DA Supervision Form used by the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office.