Biography of Charles L. Sifers

Supervising Attorney for the law firm of Charles L. Sifers, P.C.

For almost twenty five (25) years, Mr. Sifers has been involved, in some way, with drinking drivers. Starting as a Probation Officer with the City of Oklahoma under the auspices of the Alcohol Safety Action Project ("ASAP"), he supervised a caseload of over 100 persons on probation for DUI and APC for two (2) years. Having developed an alcohol education course during this time for his clients, the Department of Public Safety requested his assistance in 1979 in their implementation of the statute requiring this type of course (now called "DUI Schools") for re-instatement of a revoked driver's license due to a DUI arrest. Mr. Sifers' proposed curriculum was later adopted by the DPS as a guideline for these courses. After becoming one of the state's first certified instructors of these schools, he went on to conduct this course for over 20,000 persons from 1979 to 1994.

Since becoming an attorney in 1991, Mr. Sifers' practice has been almost exclusively in the area of DUI and driver's license matters and has represented THOUSANDS of persons with these types of cases ALL OVER Oklahoma. He has tried close to one thousand (1,000) administrative hearings AND/OR District Court Appeals concerning DUI-related driver's license matters. Hundreds of these persons arrested for DUI never lost their driver's licenses. He has taken several driver's license cases to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, establishing new law with many of them. As examples, he is responsible for the law relating to certain limitations as to where a person can be arrested for DUI and when a "work permit" for a DUI-related revocation can be requested.

Amassing six (6) to eight (8) times the required CLE hours for attorneys in Oklahoma each year, Mr. Sifers has attended or spoken at EVERY MAJOR continuing legal education seminar ("CLE") in the nation relating to the topic of DUI for the past several years. He is a graduate of the National College for DUI Defense's ("NCDD") trial college held at Harvard's Law School for the past three (3) years. He has applied for Board Certification with NCDD as a DUI Defense specialist. A consultant to several other attorneys - including prosecutors - on dozens of cases, Mr. Sifers' advice is sought on almost a daily basis from attorneys throughout Oklahoma on DUI law, driver's license issues, and/or breath or blood tests. Respected by Judges, defense and prosecuting attorneys, and police officers alike, Mr. Sifers is considered Oklahoma's most knowledgeable attorney on DUI and chemical testing.

Formally trained as an Intoxilyzer 5000 operator (the breath test machine used in Oklahoma), Mr. Sifers is currently the ONLY defense attorney in Oklahoma certified (by American Legal Education in Atlanta) on this machine. He has applied for certification by the Oklahoma Board of Tests for Alcohol Influence as Independent Breath Alcohol Analysis Operators. He is, also, the ONLY attorney in the State of Oklahoma (and only one (1) of a handful in the entire NATION) who ACTUALLY OWNS an Intoxilyzer 5000! His office has placed an Order for TWO (2) more of these machines with Official Oklahoma software (which will be received in November, 1999) with the company which manufactures them.

Mr. Sifers has been a consultant to several companies in Oklahoma and Texas as to the effect of a DUI arrest to their employees. Mr. Sifers has spoken on the topic of DUI to Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, Midwest City Police Department, U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, OSU Nursing School, Oklahoma Municipal Judges Conference, and the Governor’s Task Force on DUI & DUI Schools. He has been a speaker at almost certification seminar for DUI School Instructors held since 1985. He has spoken at EVERY DUI-related CLE in Oklahoma for the past three (3) years, teaching on topics ranging from driver's license appeals to breath test operation.

Mr. Sifers is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the Oklahoma County Bar Association, the National Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the National College for DUI Defense. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

Known for his innovative and solid approaches in the defense of his clients, Mr. Sifers is considered by the prosecutors with whom he deals as an EXTREMELY formidable, if not dangerous, adversary. Bringing an UNMATCHED combination of training, knowledge, and experience to bear for his clients, Mr. Sifers has few, if any peers in the defense of his clients arrested for DUI.