SB 941 amends 22 OS § 991b(C)(3). It requires a court to lower the fines, court costs, and costs of incarceration if the court decides that restitution should be reduced during a revocation hearing. The defendant must put on evidence that the terms of the order of restitution carries a hardship on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family. The court is to lower the … [Read more...] about New Oklahoma Laws In 2016 Part XII – Court Costs To Be Reduced If Restitution Is Reduced
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New Oklahoma Laws In 2016 Part XI – Courts To Consider PTSD When Sentencing Veterans
HB 2595 authorizes any court sentencing a veteran to consider as a mitigating factor that the person has been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from his or her military service. The vet has to provide documentary evidence that served in in a combat zone and has been diagnosed with PTSD. The law is codified in 22 OS § 973a. As a veteran, I … [Read more...] about New Oklahoma Laws In 2016 Part XI – Courts To Consider PTSD When Sentencing Veterans
New Oklahoma Laws In 2016 Part X – Illegal To Commit Forcible Sodomy On Unconscious Victims
HB 2398 closed a loophole in the law that allowed someone who had committed forcible sodomy on an unconscious victim to walk free. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in mid-2016 that forcible sodomy is not illegal if a victim is intoxicated or unconscious. The public was outraged when the defendant in that case faced no repercussions for his actions. So, the … [Read more...] about New Oklahoma Laws In 2016 Part X – Illegal To Commit Forcible Sodomy On Unconscious Victims
New Oklahoma Laws In 2016 Part IX – Revenge Porn Is Now Illegal
SB 1257 makes it illegal to disseminate private sexual images of a person without that person's consent. In short, "revenge porn" is now illegal in Oklahoma. It's a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and fined up to $1,000.Note that the victim has to be at least 18 years old. If the victim is under 18, then other laws are implicated and the punishment is way … [Read more...] about New Oklahoma Laws In 2016 Part IX – Revenge Porn Is Now Illegal
New Oklahoma laws in 2016 Part VII – Collection of DNA for felony arrests
If you're arrested for a felony in Oklahoma, your DNA will now be taken. Simple as that! Although I'm not a fan of the government having more information on us, I know that the collection of DNA in this manner has exonerated many people who have been wrongly convicted. So, I hope this law helps more people than it harms by the intrusion into our liberty. The enacted … [Read more...] about New Oklahoma laws in 2016 Part VII – Collection of DNA for felony arrests