Understanding When Charges Can Be Dropped
So, you’ve been arrested and you don’t agree with your charges. When and how can they be dismissed? Hi, my name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa felony 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 when and how charges can be dropped for you.
Potential Points for Dismissal
So, the short answer is, your charges can be dismissed at any point, literally at any point. From the day that you’re arrested, the prosecutor can choose not to file those charges. Or suppose the prosecutor chooses to file those charges. In that case, they can drop them at arraignment, or at your sounding docket hearing, or at your Allen hearing, or at your preliminary hearing, or at your second Allen hearing, or at your district court arraignment, or at your Frye-Cooper hearing, or your Jackson-Denno hearing, or even at an actual trial.
Your charges can be dismissed at any time. You could be literally, all the way through jury selection, stand up, is the defense ready to proceed? Yes, your honor, we’re ready to proceed. Is the state ready to proceed? Your honor, we move to dismiss. What? Yeah, it could actually happen. Does it happen at that point? Very, very rarely.
Negotiations and Strategy
But I’ve also had cases where I’ve had deals with prosecutors, and the deal was, well, we’ll set it for trial, and if our people don’t show up, then we’ll dismiss the charges. So yeah, your case can be dismissed at any time. It can be dismissed for any reason, as long as it’s for good cause. The state can drop the charges literally whenever they want to.
I mean, I’ve had cases where my clients were arrested, and we convinced the state to never file the charges, so nothing ever even got put up on OSCN. As far as the world and my clients’ background checks are concerned, they were never even charged with a crime. And I’ve had cases that literally get pled out the day that we’re supposed to go to jury trial because the state has agreed to drop some of their charges, and they’ve entered a plea to the rest of them.
Working with Your Attorney
So I don’t want to say don’t worry, because yeah, if you’re facing criminal charges, that’s a scary thing, and anyone would be worried about that. But what I will say is there’s always hope that the charges can be dismissed or amended. It really just depends on the negotiations.
So talk with your attorney. Talk about your chances. Talk about what they think the odds are of a dismissal, or an acquittal, or a favorable plea deal, or just avoiding jail, or if you’re probably going to end up behind bars. Talk with your attorney. They’re going to be able to tell you which way the wind is blowing for your case.
Seek Professional Guidance
They’re going to be able to help you figure out how to navigate your case, and they’re going to tell you what your options are and how likely those options are. My name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa criminal attorney with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help you make law easy.
Contact Us for a Strategy Session
If you’re facing charges and need guidance, reach out to schedule a low-cost initial strategy session. Together, we’ll explore your options and work towards the best possible outcome. Call us at 918-879-1681 today.
