New DUI Laws Oklahoma 2019
The Information You Need To Know
By Joshua C. Smith
The New IDAP Program
IDAP is a diversion program within the Department of Public Safety designed to encourage people to install an interlock in their vehicle. You must apply for IDAP. Once DPS approves your participation in IDAP, you must enroll in the program.
There are several benefits in enrolling in the program. IDAP prevents your license from getting revoked and there is no reinstatement fee after successful completion of IDAP. You can simply go to a tag agency and get a new regular license. The installation of an interlock will run concurrently with any court order for installation of an interlock for the same offense and the DUI will not appear on DPS’s public record. However, it will be recorded for the purpose of enhancement in the event of a subsequent offense.
“It is crucial that you seek quality legal assistance immediately to preserve all of your constitutional rights”
ENROLLING
To enroll in IDAP you must pay $200 to DPS and provide DPS proof of interlock installation within 45 days of the date notice was given. DPS may approve exceptions to the 45-day requirement on a limited basis. You will also have to pay $50 to get a restricted driver’s license for the period you are in IDAP. The restricted license will state that you are only authorized to operate a vehicle that has an approved and properly functioning ignition interlock device installed. There is still an exception for employer vehicles.
Additionally, you must complete an IDAP Agreement form. You must acknowledge receipt and review of the IDAP Participant’s Guide. A DPS Hearing Officer then must sign the IDAP Agreement and once enrollment in IDAP is complete the program begins immediately. All program restrictions continue through the last day of IDAP and you’re responsible for completing IDAP before removing the interlock. If you are enrolling in IDAP for a subsequent DUI/APC arrest, then you will complete any subsequent IDAP period consecutively.
LENGTH
The length of the program depends on your DUI history. A first offense means six months. A second offense means 12 months, and a third offense means 36 months. However, there is a period of time in which an IDAP participant is subject to program extension due to interlock violations or program violations.
If you are in the Six month period then you cannot commit a reportable violation in the 60 days prior to being released from IDAP. If you commit a violation during the last 60 days of the original program length and any extensions, then the program will be extended 60 days. In the one-year period you cannot commit a reportable violation in the 120 days prior to being released from IDAP. If you commit a violation during the last 120 days of the original program length and any extensions, then the program will be extended 120 days. In the three-year period you cannot commit a reportable violation in the year prior to being released from IDAP. If you commit a violation during the last year of the original program length and any extensions, then the program will be extended 365 days.
VIOLATIONS
Committing the following will result in an interlock violation. Three penalty fails at startup within a 15-minute timeframe. Three retest violations constitutes a reportable violation. Each retest violation after those first three constitutes a reportable violation. Committing the following constitutes program violations: circumvention, removal of the device, tampering, and missing service appointments.
GRADUATING
To graduate from IDAP, you must give DPS the completion form from the Board of Tests verifying no interlock violations in the last 60/120/365 days of the program. Plus, the certificate of completion of the requirements of the drug and alcohol assessment. You also must have not been arrested for DUI while in IDAP because DPS will verify that they have not received any additional officer’s affidavits and notices of revocation. Finally, DPS will update your Driver Index to reflect the completion of IDAP and issue you a completion certificate.
CHALLENGING THE STOP
If you believe the DUI stop and/or arrest was improper, you can still challenge the DUI arrest. Instead of it being on the phone with a DPS hearing officer, an appeal must be filed in the district court of the county where the offense occurred. The appeal petition has to be filed within 30 days after the notice of revocation has been served on the arrestee. The appeal must be set for a hearing 15-30 days from the date the petition is filed. The court clerk has to send a certified copy of the petition and order for hearing to DPS. There is no longer a $250 cash bond requirement. However, the law is silent on what happens to the license 30 days after notice is given when a driver files an appeal in district court. DPS has said that they will not object to the imposition of a stay of the revocation while the case is pending which means your license won’t get revoked at the 30-day mark if you file an appeal in district court.
If you lose the hearing, then your license gets revoked. If your license is revoked, then you have to get it reinstated after the revocation period. This involves paying a fee of $365 and submitting proof of the Alcohol and Drug Substance Abuse Course (ADSAC) completion. You may still appeal the loss in district court to the Court of Civil Appeals. If you lose in district court, you may ask the court to order DPS to issue a modified license so that you may legally drive during the revocation period. The court must issue that order if you ask for it. It is no longer the court’s option. The modified license will require the installation of an approved and working interlock during the revocation/suspension period.
ISSUES AT HEARING
During the hearing the court will consider whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe the person had been operating or was in actual physical control of a vehicle on the public roads, highways, streets, turnpikes or other public place in Oklahoma while under the influence of alcohol, any other intoxicating substance, or the combined influence of alcohol and any other intoxicating substance.
If the revocation is based on refusal the court will determine if the person actually refused and whether they were advised that refusing would result in automatic revocation of driving privileges. The court will also determine whether a person was wrongfully denied a breath or blood test. Plus, whether the blood or breath specimen was obtained from the person within two hours of his or her arrest. If under 21, then the court will determine whether he or she was advised that driving privileges would be revoked or denied if the test result reflected the presence of any measurable quantity of alcohol (0.02 BAC). If over 21, the court will determine if the Arrestee was advised that driving privileges would be revoked or denied if the test results in .08 or more.
However, if the revocation or denial is based upon the refusal of the person to submit to a breath or blood test, the court will also determine whether the person refused to submit to the test or tests, and whether the person was informed that driving privileges would be revoked or denied if the person refused to submit to any test. If you lose the hearing in district court, your license will be suspended accordingly: First offense 6 months; Second offense 12 months; Third and subsequent offense 36 months.
WIN YOUR CASE
It is crucial that you seek quality legal representation immediately to preserve all of your constitutional rights. Failing to submit a timely request for IDAP or a court hearing will result in an automatic suspension for no less than six months. Save your license and your criminal record by hiring an experienced DUI attorney. Joshua C. Smith has revolutionized DUI defense in Oklahoma and will provide you with cutting edge advice on how win your case.