Understanding Custody in Oklahoma
How long can you be held in custody in Oklahoma until charges are filed? Hi, my name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa criminal defense attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family and criminal law for eight years now, and I want to help you make law easy by talking about how long you can be held in jail before you’re actually charged with a crime.
Time Frame for Filing Charges
So in Oklahoma law, it’s typically 24-48 hours. If you’re being held in jail, you’re not going to be released on bond, or if you’re not bonding yourself out, or if you’re not going to be released for some sort of medical condition. The charges have to be filed against you within one to two days. They can’t just hold you indefinitely without filing charges. I mean, we fought a whole war over that, and there’s an entire constitution saying you have rights and freedoms to prevent something like that from happening to you.
Now, that does mean that it just means that you have to be held that long until charges are filed, though. So let’s say you’re arrested because of something that happened, and that you’re ultimately released. The cops don’t file any charges. They just say that you’re free to go, whatever. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re out of the woods yet. It just means that they could not hold you any longer without filing the charges.
Possibility of Future Charges
So maybe it’s a situation where they don’t think they have enough evidence yet. Maybe it’s a situation where they’re still gathering the evidence or gathering witness statements, things like that. Those are situations where you might find yourself, well, yeah, I was released. They didn’t book me. But three, six months down the road, you could still end up having charges filed against you.
I’ve also had a lot of situations where I’ve had clients who, let’s say they were in a DUI that involved an accident. And because it involved an accident, they had to be sent to a local minor emergency or a doctor, or the ER for treatment because of injuries that they sustained. Oftentimes, in those situations, those people will get what’s called a medical OR or a medical unrecognizance, basically saying, yeah, we were going to arrest you or this was going to happen, but given the medical condition, the medical needs that are going on, we’re just going to release you on your recognizance to appear at your court date when charges are filed and when the court date is set for.
Contact for Legal Assistance
So just because you’re released doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re out of the woods yet. There’s definitely still a possibility that you could be facing arrest down the line. So if you come into contact with law enforcement and you’re wondering whether or not you’re facing charges, give me a call. Let’s talk about the facts. Let’s figure out, are you really good to go, or is this something where they’re really just still gathering their evidence?
Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
If you have questions about this, definitely let me know. My name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa felony attorney with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help you make law easy. Reach out at 918-879-1681 for a low-cost initial strategy session to discuss your situation.
