Finding out about criminal charges in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, can be scary.
There are all sorts of ways of finding out that there are criminal charges pending against you. Each has an up side and a down side. And while none of them are pleasant, when criminal charges are pending against you, it is almost always better to be pro-active rather than not.
This can be a scary experience, so you want to make sure you know as much as you can about the charges against you.
You Can Get Criminal Charges Notice In the Mail
Once a criminal charge is filed, it moves from pending to active status. That means that a prosecutor has filed a complaint or charging document with the court, and the court has issued an arrest warrant.
Sometimes, the charges and a summons to appear in court get mailed to you. This allows you to act on them immediately if you choose to do so.
But what happens to the defendant if he or she has moved, or if the summons goes to an incorrect address?
A Traffic Stop Can Lead to an Arrest
In that case, a defendant may just wait until they are stopped by police, even if the defendant thinks there may be a warrant already issued. The arrest could happen as a result of a traffic stop, or any other kind of stop.
A police officer gets your information as a function of the stop, checks your status to see if there is an arrest warrant issued, and then hauls you off to jail right then and there. Of all the ways to find out that you have criminal charges filed against you, this is the avenue that allows you the least amount of control over the arrest. It can be mortifying to be the subject of arrest when you are out with friends or family.
Online Sources
You can also check online sources for the jurisdiction in which you think charges have been filed. OSCN, or more formally, the Oklahoma State Courts Network, is an online records source for the 13 largest Oklahoma county courts. It allows the public to access all court records for 13 different counties, including warrants and summons issued against people.
However, online records sometimes contain errors or are incomplete. This can happen as a result of a backlog in work, which delays the uploading of current cases, or as a result of data inputting errors. In that case, an online record could contain a mistake in the name, or other identifying information, a mistake in the charges filed, or the court date, or time you must appear.
Finally, online records only cover certain jurisdictions. Charges filed against you could be in an entirely different jurisdiction, such as another city, district, state, federal or tribal court.
An attorney can check other districts in which you suspect that charges may be filed. If you suspect that charges have been filed, it is always best to get as much clear and accurate information about them as you are able.
In that way, you can have control over an arrest if there is one. You can prepare for the court appearance and hire an Okmulgee criminal attorney to protect your rights and shepherd you through the process.
Low-cost Consultation: Okmulgee Criminal Defense Attorney
If you or a loved one needs to speak with a criminal defense lawyer, just call our Okmulgee office at (918) 756-9600, or toll-free (888) Wirth-LAW now for a initial consult at the Wirth Law Office – Okmulgee.
Or, enter your legal question or concern in the firm at the top right of this page, and one of our attorneys will promptly return your message.
