Focused, High-Stakes Criminal Defense
Services
Federal criminal defense for white-collar investigations, drug conspiracies, firearms offenses, and other complex prosecutions throughout Oklahoma’s federal districts.
Serious state criminal defense, including homicides and other violent felonies, ensuring meticulous case preparation, strategic negotiations, and forceful courtroom advocacy statewide.
Why It Matters
The Difference Counsel Makes
In any serious criminal matter — federal or state — the quality of legal representation is not a peripheral concern. It is the central variable. A federal indictment or a serious state charge sets in motion a procedural machinery of enormous complexity. The rules are arcane, the consequences permanent, and the government’s resources are substantial. What stands between a client and those consequences is, in the end, the competence and commitment of their attorney.
Good counsel means more than courtroom presence. It means understanding how an investigation unfolds before charges are filed — how to respond to a target letter, whether to cooperate and on what terms, and how early strategic decisions shape everything that follows. It means scrutinizing the government’s case at every stage: the sufficiency of the indictment, the legality of the search and seizure, the chain of custody for evidence, the reliability of cooperating witnesses. It means knowing when to fight and when to negotiate — and having the credibility with prosecutors and courts to make either path effective.
In state court, the stakes are equally high. Oklahoma carries some of the most serious sentencing exposure in the country for violent offenses. The difference between a skilled advocate and adequate representation can be measured in decades. Trial preparation, evidentiary challenges, jury selection, and the ability to humanize a client in front of twelve strangers — these are not skills that can be improvised. They are built over years of courtroom work.
Clients who come to Hoehns Law Office understand this. They are not looking for the lowest price. They are looking for the attorney who gives them the best chance. That is what this firm exists to provide.
The Weight of Federal Prosecution
Federal cases are categorically different from state prosecutions. They begin differently — often with a grand jury investigation that may run for months or years before a single charge is filed. By the time a defendant learns they are a target, the government has already assembled its case. The indictment, when it comes, reflects that preparation.
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Sentencing Guidelines, and the rules of evidence in federal court create a distinct and demanding practice environment. Sentences in federal court are calculated through the Guidelines — a structured matrix that can produce outcomes far more severe than state counterparts for similar conduct. Enhancements for role in the offense, obstruction, or drug quantity can dramatically increase exposure. Understanding how to contest these enhancements, or negotiate them away before sentencing, requires deep familiarity with the system.
Federal prosecutors are skilled, well-resourced, and operate with the full investigative capacity of agencies like the FBI, DEA, and IRS Criminal Investigation Division behind them. Effective defense requires an attorney who understands how those agencies build cases — and how to challenge them.
Defending Serious State Charges in Oklahoma
State courts handle some of the most consequential criminal charges in the country. The state’s felony sentencing structure — including its use of sentence enhancements, prior conviction allegations, and mandatory minimums for certain offenses — means that a conviction can carry decades of exposure. For violent offenses, sex offenses, and drug charges involving weight or prior history, the stakes are as high as anything a federal court will impose.
State court practice demands its own depth of knowledge. Oklahoma procedure, the rules of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the local practices of individual district courts, and the relationships within the local bar all shape how a case moves and how it resolves. An attorney who knows these courts — who has tried cases in them, argued motions in them, and negotiated with the prosecutors who work in them — brings an advantage that cannot be replicated by a practitioner unfamiliar with the terrain.
Hoehns Law Office handles serious state felonies across Oklahoma, including murder and homicide charges, violent crimes, drug offenses, and crimes involving firearms. Mr. Hoehns has the trial experience and the local credibility to take a case from arraignment through verdict — and the judgment to know when a negotiated resolution serves the client better than a trial.
Legal Community
A Reputation Built in the Courtroom and the Bar
Craig M. Hoehns is recognized among his peers as one of Oklahoma’s leading criminal defense attorneys. His AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell — the highest peer review rating the organization awards — reflects the assessment of judges and fellow lawyers who have observed his work firsthand. He has been selected to Super Lawyers continuously since 2023, following six consecutive years of recognition as a Rising Star from 2017 through 2022.
That recognition extends into the organizations that shape criminal law practice at the state and national level. Mr. Hoehns serves as Vice-Chair of the Oklahoma Bar Association Criminal Law Section and holds committee assignments with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) — the preeminent national organization for criminal defense practitioners. He has previously served on the board of the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (OCDLA), the Oklahoma County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Committee for Uniform Jury Instructions.
He is a frequent speaker at criminal law seminars, regularly training other attorneys in criminal defense practice — a reflection of both his depth of knowledge and his commitment to elevating the quality of representation across the bar. His engagement in these organizations is not ceremonial. It is the work of a lawyer who is invested in the integrity of the criminal justice system, not merely his own caseload.
For prospective clients, that standing matters. An attorney who is respected by prosecutors, known to federal and state judges, and trusted by fellow defense lawyers brings a credibility to the representation that cannot be manufactured. It is earned over years — and it works on a client’s behalf from the first call.
Reviews? No. Learn why here.
To protect client confidentiality, Hoehns Law Office does not publish reviews or case stories; discretion is integral to our representation.
Prospective clients should expect privacy, direct attorney access, and candid advice, not public testimonials or marketing driven by past case outcomes.
