From your experience, what should people know about Oklahoma City Court, Midwest City Court, Edmond City Court, Norman City Court, and Cleveland County Court?
Answer: The first thing I can say is that as far as the types of charges we’re most lenient or strict on, most of the municipal courts are fairly lenient on most all charges; they’re not looking to necessarily put anybody in jail. They’re more looking for the dollar; they’re looking to punish by financial means. Most of them on most charges will allow a client to take care of it without an attorney present. The problem is that those courts never explain the ramifications outside of “do you plead guilty,” “do you want to plead not guilty or no contest.” They don’t explain to, especially with DUI clients, how that affects their drivers license and as far as the revocation of their drivers license. The judges and those city prosecutors do not explain the ramifications of the possession of marijuana charge if the person is in a motor vehicle, how that can result in a revocation of their driving privileges. And I think that is a downfall in those jurisdictions. And that’s one of the biggest things we fight, is trying to reverse not necessarily reverse but undo those decisions when somebody realizes, “Hey, I did this without knowing that my license would be revoked.”