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
oklahoma laws
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
New Oklahoma laws in 2016 Part VI – No longer illegal to drive without insurance card
Before November 1, 2016, it was illegal to drive without an insurance card in Oklahoma--even if you had car insurance. You were subject to up to a $250 fine and imprisonment for no more than 30 days. HB 2473 changed all that. Those penalties applied equally to people who had insurance but no card and people with no insurance. Now, those penalties only apply to people driving … [Read more...] about New Oklahoma laws in 2016 Part VI – No longer illegal to drive without insurance card