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Oklahoma · Snapshot open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14

Okla. Stat. tit. 43A, § 43A-5-411: Rights of individual alleged to require treatment

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. OK Code
  2. Title 43A

A. An individual alleged to be a person requiring treatment

shall have the following rights:

1. The right to notice, as provided by Section 5-412 of this

title;

2. The right to counsel, including court-appointed counsel, and

if the person has no counsel, that the court shall appoint an

attorney to represent the person at no cost if the person is an

indigent person and cannot afford an attorney;

3. The right to a hearing and the right to a closed hearing,

unless the person requests otherwise;

4. Upon request, right to a jury trial. The jury shall be

composed of six persons having the qualifications required of jurors

in courts of record;

5. The right to be present at the hearing on the petition or

jury trial. The person shall be present at the hearing or jury

trial unless the court finds that the presence of the person alleged

to be a person requiring treatment makes it impossible to conduct

the hearing or trial in a reasonable manner or that the presence of

the person would be injurious to the health or well-being of such

person.

a. The court shall not decide in advance of the hearing,

solely on the basis of the mental health evaluation,

that the person alleged to be a person requiring

treatment should not be allowed nor required to

appear.

b. Prior to issuing an order excluding the person from

the hearing or jury trial, the court shall find, based

upon clear and convincing evidence, that alternatives

to exclusion of the person were attempted;

6. The right to present and to cross-examine witnesses. The

petitioner and witnesses identified in the petition shall offer

testimony under oath at the hearing on the petition. When the

hearing is conducted as a jury trial, the petitioner and any witness

in behalf of the petitioner shall be subject to cross-examination by

the attorney for the person alleged to be a person requiring

treatment. The person alleged to be a person requiring treatment

may also be called as a witness and cross-examined.

B. An individual alleged to be or found by a court to be a

person requiring treatment shall be afforded such other rights as

are guaranteed by state and federal law.

C. No statement, admission or confession made by the person

alleged to be a person requiring treatment shall be used for any

purpose except for proceedings under this act. No such statement,

admission or confession may be used against such person in any

criminal action whether pending at the time the hearing is held or

filed against such person at any later time directly or in any

manner or form.

D. An attorney appointed by the court to represent a person

alleged to be a person requiring treatment shall be a licensed and

actively practicing attorney who shall represent the person until

final disposition of the case. The court may appoint a public

defender where available.

1. The attorney appointed by the court shall meet and consult

with the person within one (1) day of notification of the

appointment. The attorney shall immediately, upon meeting with the

person alleged to be a person requiring treatment, present to such

person a statement of the rights, including all rights afforded to

persons alleged to be a person requiring treatment by the Oklahoma

and the United States Constitutions.

2. The court-appointed attorney shall be replaced by another

attorney if:

a. the person alleged to be a person requiring treatment

prefers the services of an attorney other than the one

initially appointed for the person,

b. the preferred attorney agrees to accept the

responsibility, and

c. the person alleged to be a person requiring treatment

or the preferred attorney notifies the court of the

preference and the attorney's acceptance of

employment.

The preferred attorney shall meet and consult with the person within

one (1) day of employment or appointment. Any request for

itially appointed for the person,

b. the preferred attorney agrees to accept the

responsibility, and

c. the person alleged to be a person requiring treatment

or the preferred attorney notifies the court of the

preference and the attorney's acceptance of

employment.

The preferred attorney shall meet and consult with the person within

one (1) day of employment or appointment. Any request for

additional days shall be subject to the discretion of the court,

considering the facts and circumstances of each particular case,

including cost.

3. The attorney fees for all services shall be paid by the

person alleged to be a person requiring treatment. However, if the

person alleged to be a person requiring treatment, or a person

empowered pursuant to law to act on behalf of such person, submits

an affidavit that such person is indigent and unable to pay attorney

fees, the attorney fees shall be paid from the court fund, after a

determination by the court that such person is indigent. The amount

of such fee shall be set by the court.

4. The attorney representing the person alleged to be a person

requiring treatment shall notify the court of any current and

unrevoked advance directive that has been executed by such person

pursuant to the Advance Directives for Mental Health Treatment Act

and provide a written copy of the advance directive, if available,

to the court and a representative of the district attorney's office.

Collected 2026-09-14T18:32:36Z. Source file · JSON

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