Motion to Quash Can Render a Previous Decision as Invalid
Video Transcribed: You can’t file a motion to quash in a misdemeanor case anymore. I’m Oklahoma lawyer James Wirth and that is the issue that we’re talking about; motions to quash in criminal cases, specifically in misdemeanor cases after a new decision by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. And that decision has been published. It’s 2022 OK CR28. It’s the State of Oklahoma versus the Honorable Perry Hudson and that is a case that deals with the right of a defendant to have the motion to quash.
So what is a motion to quash? All right. Well, for criminal charges to be filed, generally there has to be a determination that there’s probable cause that a crime is committed and the defendant committed that crime. And if it is a felony charge, you’ve got a right to a preliminary hearing where the state is required to put on evidence and testimony to prove that there’s at least probable cause that a crime was committed and the defendant committed it before it goes to trial.
But what about in a misdemeanor case where you don’t have a right to a preliminary hearing? Do you have the right to file a motion to quash, asserting that there is no probable cause that a crime was committed, or the defendant committed it, just like you could in a felony case after the preliminary hearing judge determined that there was the probable cause? It’s common to file a motion to quash to assert that there wasn’t and that goes to the district judge for determination.
All right, so that’s how it works in a felony case. But in a misdemeanor case where you don’t have a preliminary hearing, do you have the right to file a motion to quash and request an evidentiary hearing on that? And this case was before… Originally this defendant’s case was before the Honorable Perry Hudson, and that judge determined that based on Oklahoma law and a prior, two prior, well one published prior court decision that talked about applying certain criminal procedures to misdemeanors and felonies, and then two unpublished cases from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, that seemed to hold that you could file a motion to quash in a misdemeanor case.
So, that’s what the defendant was asserting. And the judge, the district-level judge, in that case, the special judge, in that case, Perry Hudson, determined that there was a right based on those prior unpublished decisions, for a defendant to file a motion to quash.
The state appealed that to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and that’s the decision that we have today. That actually was filed on October 25th, 2022. Again, that case number’s 2022 OK CR28. And in that case, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals determined that the young decision is limited, that it does not apply all of the procedures related to felonies to misdemeanors, including the right to have a hearing on a motion to quash.
And that the two unpublished decisions by that court, previously by the same court, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals that decided differently but were unpublished, are both overruled and now this is the new law of the land in the state of Oklahoma, is that you no longer have the right to file a motion to quash if you’re a defendant charged with a misdemeanor. This means, if you think that charges were filed against you without there being the sufficient probable cause, you don’t have a right to contest that until you go to trial.
That’s your only recourse. You file for a trial and it’s done in front of a jury. Or if you waive a jury in front of a judge, but you can’t do a pretrial motion to determine whether there’s sufficient evidence to go forward to trial.
If you’ve got any questions about criminal procedure in the state of Oklahoma, or you’re being accused of something, you’re going to want to talk to an attorney privately and confidentially about your circumstances. To do that with an Oklahoma criminal defense attorney at my office, you can go online to makelaweasy.com.
