Sex Crimes Attorney In Oklahoma City
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\\nJacqui Ford, Jacquelyn Ford Law, P.C.: Welcome to Your Best Defense podcast. My name is Jacqui Ford, and today we are going to talk about sex. Specifically, being accused of sex crimes cases in the state of Oklahoma.
\\nThe first, and most important, piece of advice that I have to give you, and if you hear nothing else in this entire podcast or series of podcasts dealing with sex crimes cases in Oklahoma, hear this: Do not talk to the law enforcement. Most times when people are charged with this, our natural inclination, especially if we\'re innocent, is to defend ourselves. It is really imperative that you understand that law enforcement are not your friends. They are not asking you questions in order to clear you of these allegations. They are trained to take your words out of context, and use them against you in the future. So, the first and most important thing is, stop talking to the police.
\\nSex crimes allegations gives some extra kinds of concerns that most other cases don\'t really have. A lot of times, especially if we are falsely accused we want to talk to people about it, about, "How do I get out of this?" And so, we go to our safe places. We talk to our counselor or our psychiatrist, some of us share this information with our preacher, or our friends in the church community. Maybe you know someone at DHS? Or, DHS is the one who\'s come to you with these kinds of allegations, and they just want to hear your side of the story? You cannot talk to these folks. You can\'t talk to your primary physician. You can\'t talk to anybody. You really can\'t even talk to your wife, your mother, your father, or your kids.
\\nAnd this is why: in Oklahoma these people are deemed mandatory reporters. If these allegations include a minor, which means anyone under the age of 18, even if they\'re 17-years old, even if you\'re innocent, even if she consented to the act, they are children. And Oklahoma law requires that these people in power (law enforcement, DHS, doctors, including doctors at the emergency room, your counselors and your preacher) all of these people, with cops as the exception, all of these people kind of have a fundamental confidentiality with you. We protect your communications with your preacher. We protect your communications with your doctor. Often times, the law will even provide a privilege for talking about things with your wife or your husband.
\\nBut in Oklahoma, these people are called mandatory reporters, which means if they hear that there\'s an allegation, or they have a suspicion, that a child has been the victim of any kind of abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, if those children have been exposed to things that are outside of what the reported person believes to be community standards, they are obligated under law, not they "can" report you, they are obligated to report you. And their failure to so will put them at risk of being charged criminally.
\\nSo, all of the places that we generally go to as a safe place are no longer safe when we\'re being accused of a crime against children or a crime involving sex. With that said, who can you talk to?
\\nYou have to find a lawyer. The attorney-client privilege that attaches is sacred, and we are not mandatory reporters. You can come into my office and admit that you did every single thing that they said that you did, and I cannot report that. And I will not report it. My ethical obligations as an attorney prohibit me violating that confidence. And I am not a mandatory reporter.
\\nSo, how do you figure out who to talk to? Well, you don\'t just want to talk any lawyer. You want to find the lawyer that has experience in sex crimes cases. You have to find an Oklahoma City sex crimes defense lawyer. How do you know if they\'re sex crimes defense lawyers? Well, we\'re not allowed to specialize. I can\'t put on my website, or on my business card, or on a billboard, that I specialize in sex crimes, that I specialize in defending folks accused of crimes against children, or crimes involving sexual acts. My ethical obligations prohibit me from doing that.
\\nSo how do you figure out whether or not the person you\'re talking to is experienced enough, and qualified to handle these kinds of allegations? You have a duty and an obligation to yourself to interview those lawyers. The lawyer that you chose, this is as important to you in this matter as the doctor you would choose if you had a brain tumor. You are quite literally putting your life in their hands. It is their honor to represent you. You should not be honored to have them represent you. That\'s not how this works.
\\nSo, take advantage of your free consultation. Most lawyers offer them. I certainly do. Come in and interview me. Ask me about my experience. Ask me how many cases I\'ve taken like this to trial. Ask me if I have to go to trial in these cases. Because I\'m going to tell you as an experienced criminal defense lawyer who does a lot of work dealing in sex crimes: these cases don\'t have to go to trial. We have a lot of tools at our disposal that we can help you through this process. And each case is so fact-specific that you really have to get in and visit with me, and you have to do it sooner, rather than later.
\\nIf you know you\'re being accused you cannot let fear, shame, or embarrassment stop you from picking up the phone. With most of my clients charged in these things, often times they are falsely accused. And they report to us that picking up the phone and asking for help in this regard was one of the hardest things they ever had to do. And I understand that. It\'s embarrassing. Even if we did nothing wrong, our reputation has been damaged in the community, and we are afraid that people are judging us.
\\nWhat you\'ll find here is that you walk into this door with no judgment. You will not be judged. You will not be shamed. You will not be made to be in fear of what\'s going to happen. You\'re going to walk into this door, and be welcomed by me and my staff who are equipped and experienced in dealing with these kinds of cases. We understand the emotional turmoil that it puts on you, and you families, and your employers, and the people in your community. This does not just affect the accused. It is a wide-reaching, damaging accusation, and you have to have people who are prepared to defend you, not just in a courtroom, but with those other people in your lives.
\\nWe know how to do that. Most lawyers that don\'t practice in this area don\'t know how to do that. These accusations are very different than any other kind of accusation. It\'s not like you\'ve been accused of DUI, wherein everybody we know has been arrested for DUI at least once. Most people know somebody who\'s been through the criminal justice system on a simple possession of marijuana charge. Or, even a domestic violence, wherein they got into a scuffle at home. These cases are very, very different. And you have to go somewhere where they understand the nuances of what\'s going on in sex crimes litigation.
\\nEvery district attorney\'s office has lawyers that are skilled and trained to prosecute sex crimes, specifically. In Oklahoma County they have an entire division of their district attorney\'s office dedicated to what they call the Special Victims Unit. We know that society looks at these cases differently. We know because Law & Order has an entire series dedicated simply to the Special Victims Unit. Where this show\'s been on the air for years. We do not have a Law & Order that deals with the Domestic Violence Unit, or the DUI Unit.
\\nThat\'s because these cases are different than every other case. And you have to interview the lawyers to find out in a position to trust them to take your life and your family\\u2019s life future in their hands. Once you find that criminal defense lawyer, and you\'ve hired them, the most important advice I can give to is you must be brutally honest. Many times we want to defend ourselves, or withhold information because we think it makes us look bad. Often times, when we\'re falsely accused of sex crimes it\'s because we\'ve done something wrong to somebody. Not necessarily raped them, or violated them in any way, but if they\'re putting that false allegation on you it\'s because you\'ve hurt them in some way. We don\'t want to acknowledge our own wrongdoings.
\\nBut it\'s important when you sit down with me, and I ask you, "What happened?" That your honesty is unmatched to anywhere else you\'ve ever been. And it kind of goes against most of what we\'ve learned. Most of the time defense lawyers tell you to shut your mouth. \\u201cWe don\'t want to hear the details. The details will make it harder for us to defend you.\\u201d In sex crimes cases the devil is in the details. The only way you will be freed from these allegations, and not have the stigma riding with you for the rest of your life, is if you are brutally honest with me.
\\nYou have to tell me everything. And you can\'t bank on me being smart enough to ask you all the right questions. So, prepare yourself to come into that room, and really expose your soul. It\'s important because it\'s the only way I have to defend you. If we start building a defense based upon on a lack of truthfulness, or not having the whole story, that can really blow up in our face quicker in a sex-crimes case than anywhere else. Remembering that that confidentiality that you have with an attorney-client is sacred. We\'ve engaged in an oath to Oklahoma Bar Association, that says if we violate that confidentiality, they can take away my license to practice law. I will not ever violate that privilege. Any information that is shared within this office can only be repeated with your permission. So, you will be instrumental in building your own defense. Therefore, we have to start out this process open, and honest, and with a free-line of communication. It\'s the only way that we can really help you. Holding back from me is only going to hurt you in the future.
\\nSo, the first thing you have to know is stop talking. Do not engage in any interview with anyone that is asking you questions that sound like you\'re being investigated. You ask whoever\'s asking you, "Am I a suspect? Am I free to leave?" And if the answer is, "You\'re free to leave." Then you kindly thank them for their time, and you exit the room. Do not be bullied, do not be pushed. The reason that people get tied up in this idea of lawyering-up is because we believe that only guilty people ask to talk to a lawyer. This is insanity. This is what the cops want you believe, because they don\'t want you to ask for a lawyer. The first thing I will do is stop the interrogation. No further questions of my client. And if you\'re not under arrest, we\'re leaving - you\'re walking out with me. If I don\'t stop that interrogation, they are just going to take your statements and use them against you. And it quite common that those statements get pulled out of context. If, and when, we decide it is in your best interest to engage in an interview with law enforcement, or DHS, or anyone else, we will record that interview ourselves. So, that we cannot ever be faced with our words being taking out of context, and being presented to a jury of our peers, twisted and misunderstood.
\\nIt is not guaranteed that I won\'t help sit down with law enforcement to engage in these conversations. But you have to give us the opportunity to make that decision together. It is a strategic decision, and it must be made with the advice of counsel. If law enforcement is giving you a hard time about it, you\'d better believe it\'s because they\'re scared for you to lawyer-up, that they wont be able to continue to gather information to put you in prison for a very, very long time.
\\nThese cases are different than any other case, because law enforcement and those involved in the investigatory purpose, or process, are trained to believe the accuser. The accuser will be forced to tell her story over and over and over again, but not once will she ever be challenged until she\'s sitting in a courtroom being cross-examined by me with your assistance. They will not ever look at her and say, "This isn\'t true. Is it?" And start picking apart their stories, but they will do that to you. They are trained to believe the accuser at all costs. And if they start their investigation believing that you are guilty, then nothing you say can get you out of that presumption. You have to leave it to the professionals to do that for you. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you exercise your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent until you\'ve engaged with a qualified sex crimes defense lawyer in Oklahoma City. That is the only way you can protect yourself, and the best way to have a chance of ever walking away from this situation a free person.
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\\nOutro: Thanks for listening to Your Best Defense podcast. If you need a passionate, energetic, and unintimidated defense attorney contact Jacqui at fordlawokc.com. Or, call 405-604-3200. Remember, your best defense is a good offense. Jacqui Ford \\u2013 not afraid of a fight, and always fighting for what is right.
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