State of Oklahoma v. Aguilar

Ponca City, Oklahoma , criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with:



CHILD NEGLECT, in violation of 21 O.S.



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The issue in this appeal is whether an expectant mother who holds a medical marijuana card and uses the drug while pregnant has exposed her unborn child to illegal drugs constituting the crime of child neglect, which in Oklahoma includes "the failure or omission to protect a child from exposure to . . . the use, possession, sale, or manufacture of illegal drugs." 10A O.S.Supp.2019, § 1-1-105(48)(b)(1) (emphasis added). The Information charges Aguilar with a single felony count of child neglect by "exposing J.W.B. to controlled dangerous substances in utero, specifically Marijuana." (Emphasis added). Thus, the charging document accuses Aguilar of a crime which does not exist, i.e., child neglect by exposure to "controlled dangerous substances" as opposed to exposure to "illegal drugs[.]" This is not a matter of semantics, and although this charging error does not determine the outcome of this appeal, the apparent confusion in terminology and definitions which led to that error is central to understanding how to properly resolve this case.

Dismissed.Dismissed