One Important Thing to Do Is Plan Ahead
Video Transcribed: If you had a county charge and those charges have been dropped based on jurisdiction, based on the fact that you’re Native American, what do you need to do next? My name is Ted Hasse. I’m a Tulsa federal lawyer practicing in federal and tribal courts.
Too often, I’m hearing from defendants, weeks after they’ve been released, after having faced some sort of county charge. They get released, and unfortunately, they’re not planning ahead.
They’re ending up in a situation where the process is moving forward. If it doesn’t go federal, it will go tribal. And while we get better results in tribal court for our defendants, at least on the front end, defendants are ending up in pretty lousy situations if they get a warrant executed on them, like for example, during a traffic stop or something, a routine traffic stop. It is near certainty right now that if you get picked up on a tribal warrant, you’re going to be sitting in jail for at least a night, sometimes several days.
It’s a bad situation. And then defendants who are getting picked up, DUI, whatever, while they may normally bond out pretty much immediately in Tulsa County or Creek County, or if they’re facing any sort of state charge, they’d be out very quickly. But as soon as they find out you’re Native American, it’s quite possible they may put you on a tribal hold, and you’ll have to sit for way too long.
That’s how things are shaking out right now. If you or a loved one is facing a charge with a tribal court or a federal charge, please give me a call, so that we can talk about how I can help you.
Again, my name is Ted Hasse and I am a federal defense attorney in Oklahoma. I can be reached at (918) 932-2800.