State Offers 20 Years – Client Does 1 Month [Choctaw County, OK]

Probation

Criminal Charge:
Case: State of Oklahoma v. Brandon Clark Self
Court: [Cf-14-78, CF-14-105][Choctaw]
Result:
Judge Rejects State’s 20-Year Sentence for 1 Month and Probation

Oklahoma State Courts Network
For more details on this case, open the Docket View.
Oklahoma State Courts Network
For more details on this case, open the Docket View.

Perhaps because of his history of felony convictions, law enforcement was after Brandon.  They thought they finally got him with a traffic stop made after Brandon had been almost run off the road.  Claiming a gun and drugs recovered from his car, the State of Oklahoma charged Brandon with five serious felony counts and sought to put him away for decades. Haslam filed motions to suppress the bad traffic stop and searches on which these cases were founded, slowly chipping away at the “evidence” until pleas were negotiated that required a hearing – and a judge that would determine the sentences.

At the hearing, Haslam presented evidence of the bogus traffic stop, the mischaracterization of the recovered “drugs” as contraband when they were actually prescription meds, and – most importantly – some of the most emotionally moving testimony in my 25 years of trial practice by Brandon’s two young daughters. The Court sentenced Brandon to ten years in OK DOC with all but one month suspended.

Afterwards, the State intercepted tax refunds to collect $13,000 in court costs and fines. Haslam successfully defended these efforts as well. The Court waived almost every dollar. Brandon is now a successful business owner and has never violated probation.