Strategies For Defending A Misdemeanor In Wagoner County

Misdemeanor crimes in Wagoner County are those for which less severe punishments are prescribed, such as simple assault, battery and public intoxication. They are criminal offenses that are less serious than a felony and generally punishable by a fine, a jail term of up to a year, or both.

In addition, if convicted of a misdemeanor, you may face difficulty finding employment or housing, your driver’s license may be suspended and you may jeopardize professional certification and licensing.

Moreover, some misdemeanor charges can lead to more serious charges. For example, a first DUI conviction in Wagoner County is usually prosecuted as a misdemeanor, while a second or subsequent DUI conviction within a ten-year period may be prosecuted as a felony.

For these reasons, a misdemeanor charge should be defended in a serious manner.

Defending a Misdemeanor in Wagoner County

It is not uncommon for individuals to choose to represent themselves when charged with a misdemeanor offense; however, this choice most often results in severe consequences.

Judges have broad discretion in terms of how they sentence a person convicted of a misdemeanor. A judge may order the convicted person to pay fines and make restitution to the victim(s), or the judge may levy a suspended or deferred sentence. The judge may also sentence a person to probation, or to the maximum amount of jail time available.

The wide range of choices available to the judge is sufficient evidence to encourage someone to employ an experienced defense attorney who can advocate to minimize the severity of the penalty to be imposed if convicted.

Misdemeanor Defense Strategies

An experienced defense attorney can help you in defending a misdemeanor charge in a number of different ways.

• Get the charges dropped.

Firstly, your defense attorney can intervene early with the state to persuade them to drop the charges against you.

Just because you have been arrested does not mean the state has to proceed with the charges against you. Often, there may be factual or legal evidence your attorney can present to the state to persuade them not to proceed with the case against you.

• Get the charges reduced.

Secondly, because Wagoner County jails are overcrowded, the state’s attorney’s office is motivated to agree to a plea bargain that may result in you spending little or no time in jail. This strategy often requires you to agree to plead guilty in exchange for a reduction in the charges against you.

• Get a deferred sentence.

You may also have the possibility to apply for a deferred sentence and avoid a conviction altogether. With this approach, if you have a limited criminal history, the state’s attorney may agree to dismiss the charges against you if you plead guilty and agree to perform certain tasks. If you successfully perform these tasks, the state will dismiss the charges against you.

• Get a suspended sentence.

If you do not qualify for a deferred sentence, you may be eligible for a suspended sentence; where, even though you have been sentenced to serve time behind bars, the judge suspends your sentence based upon your continued good behavior. If you fully comply with the conditions set forth by the judge, you will not have to serve time in jail.

• Expunge your criminal record.

Finally, if you can obtain the right result initially, you and your attorney can go on and expunge your criminal record to get rid of any evidence of your criminal record.