Oklahoma DUI First Offense
Reader’s Question:
I just moved here in Norman, Oklahoma and I heard that my neighbor was charged with DUI for a first-time DUI offense. How can he be charged with an aggravated DUI if it was the first time that he was charged with it?
Gladys
Norman, OK
During the DUI arrest of your neighbor in Norman, Oklahoma, if he had a breath or blood alcohol test of .15% or higher, the charge would be an aggravated DUI even if it is the first time that he is charged for DUI. If he will be convicted for the DUI charge of an aggravated offense, he could face all the same penalties for a first-time offense, but he would also be required to complete a mandatory in-patient treatment program with one year aftercare, 480 hours of community service and install an ignition interlock device on all the vehicles that he would be driving.
Almost all District Attorney’s office in the state of Oklahoma is filing the charge of aggravated DUI with a BAC test of .15% or higher. In the district courts where these charges are being filed, the common practice is to amend the charge back down to a regular DUI charge if the person has had an alcohol assessment that does not reflect the need for the person to complete an in-patient program.
DUI Breath Test Result Explained
Reader’s Question:
My cousin was arrested for DUI in Oklahoma and the breath test result when she was arrested was different when she was tested at the police station. Does this really happen in breath testing, how can this be explained?
Carmi
Midwest City, OK
Yes, this has already happened in countless DUI cases. Any driver who is suspected to be driving under the influence could have a breath test result of 0.15% blood alcohol content (BAC) at the police station, but had a 0.07 BAC when the driver got pulled over. This is because alcohol could take an average of 50 minutes, but could take as long as three hours, to be fully absorbed into the bloodstream and create the peak blood alcohol level. This is very critical in your cousin’s DUI case in Midwest City, Oklahoma if the DUI arrest happened relatively soon after she finished drinking.
Probably, her BAC was still rising when she took the breath test which means that even if her BAC was above 0.08% when she was tested at the police station, it could be well have been below 0.08% when she was actually driving. There’s no law against having BAC that is above 0.08% at the police station; it would only be the BAC while actually driving that counts in DUI cases.
Why Am I Being Charged Of Two Separate DUI Offenses?
Reader’s Question:
Isn’t it unfair that after my drunk driving arrest in Oklahoma, I will have two different DUI charges? Could you explain why there has to be two charges?
Dave
North Cleveland, OK
It’s definitely unfair that after your drunk driving arrest in Oklahoma, you can be charged with two separate DUI offenses. The first offense that you can be charged with is having a blood alcohol content (BAC) beyond the legal limit of 0.08% and the second one is for impaired driving. One reason for creating two different DUI offenses is that a person who is arrested for drunk driving can refuse to take any kind of BAC test. The state of Oklahoma has no evidence in proving the blood alcohol level without the BAC test results. Being charged with two separate offenses allows the state to convict a person for DUI in the absence of BAC test results.
It may be absurd-sounding and it even gets worse because one of the justifications of having two separate laws is that each is based on a different kind of proof. Well, that’s true in theory but it’s quite the opposite in practice. Failing the BAC test can be considered sufficient proof for both charges. In other words, the state does not need any proof of actual impairment to convict you for both charges. But the good news is you will never be punished for both even if you might be convicted for the two charges. That means double the charges doesn’t mean double the sentence.