Who is Eligible for a Deferred Prosecution Agreement in Oklahoma?

Who is eligible for a deferred prosecution agreement in Oklahoma? I'm Tulsa attorney James Wirth doing a series of videos related to deferred prosecution agreements. This one deals with who is eligible? The law lays this out and makes it pretty broad. I just want to read that.

It is statutory. It's Title 22, Section 305.1. It says the state of Oklahoma may include any person in a deferred prosecution agreement if it is in the best interest of the accused and not contrary to the public interest, so that's pretty broad.

Ultimately, what it means is that the state can decide what types of offenses, what types of crimes, and what types of people they want to allow for that, which they believe is in the best interest of the accused and is not contrary to the public interest.

It says each district attorney shall adopt and promulgate guidelines, which shall indicate what factors shall be considered in including an accused in the deferred prosecution.

The guidelines shall ensure that the state of Oklahoma considers, in each case, at least the following factors. And then, it has a list of statutory factors to consider.

It says whether the state of Oklahoma has sufficient evidence to achieve a conviction, so they've got to have a certain level of guilt before they try to coerce somebody into entering into a deferred prosecution agreement.

The nature of the offense with priority given to first offenders and non-violent crimes, so it's typically non-violent crimes, first offenders.

Any special characteristics of the accused, whether the accused will cooperate and benefit from a deferred prosecution program, whether available programs are appropriate to the accused person's needs, whether the services for the accused are more readily available from the community or from the correction system, whether the accused constitutes a substantial danger to others.

Obviously, if you're a danger to others, it's less likely that they're going to offer you a deferred prosecution agreement. More likely that there's going to be a formal charge filed with the court to go through that court process.

The impact of a deferred prosecution on the community, the recommendation of the law enforcement agency involved in the case, the opinion of the victim, and any mitigating and aggravating circumstances.

Need An Attorney? Give us a call at 918-879-1681 or submit a legal question at https://www.wirthlawoffice.com/

Want The Transcript? https://www.wirthlawoffice.com/tulsa-...

Join The Group! Have an Oklahoma legal question? There's a Facebook Group for that. Join me and the discussion by clicking the link and hitting "Join:"
  / oklahoma.legal.questions