{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-142a-2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 21-142A-2","heading":"Victims and witnesses rights","body":"A. The office of the district attorney shall inform the victims\n\nand witnesses of crimes of their rights under the Oklahoma Victim's\n\nRights Act, which shall include the following rights:\n\n1. Upon request, to be notified and to be present at all\n\nproceedings involving the criminal or delinquent conduct, to be\n\nheard in any proceeding involving release, plea, sentencing,\n\ndisposition, parole and any proceeding during which a right of the\n\nvictim is implicated and to be notified that a court proceeding to\n\nwhich a victim or witness has been subpoenaed will or will not go on\n\nas scheduled, in order to save the person an unnecessary trip to\n\ncourt;\n\n2. To be treated with fairness and respect for the safety,\n\ndignity and privacy of the victim, to receive protection from harm\n\nand threats of harm arising out of the cooperation of the person\n\nwith law enforcement and prosecution efforts, to be provided with\n\ninformation as to the level of protection available and how to\n\naccess protection and, upon request, to be notified of any release\n\nor escape of an accused;\n\n3. To be informed of financial assistance and other social\n\nservices available as a result of being a witness or a victim,\n\nincluding information on how to apply for the assistance and\n\nservices;\n\n4. To be informed of the procedure to be followed in order to\n\napply for and receive any witness fee to which the victim or witness\n\nis entitled;\n\n5. To be informed of the procedure to be followed in order to\n\napply for and receive any restitution to which the victim is\n\nentitled;\n\n6. To be provided, whenever possible, a secure waiting area\n\nduring court proceedings that does not require close proximity to\n\ndefendants and families and friends of defendants;\n\n7. To have any stolen or other personal property expeditiously\n\nreturned by law enforcement agencies when no longer needed as\n\nevidence. If feasible, all such property, except weapons, currency,\n\ncontraband, property subject to evidentiary analysis and property\n\nthe ownership of which is disputed, shall be returned to the person;\n\n8. To be provided with appropriate employer intercession\n\nservices to ensure that employers of victims and witnesses will\n\ncooperate with the criminal justice process in order to minimize the\n\nloss of pay and other benefits of the employee resulting from court\n\nappearances;\n\n9. To have the family members of all homicide victims afforded\n\nall of the services under this section, whether or not the person is\n\nto be a witness in any criminal proceeding;\n\n10. To be informed of any plea bargain negotiations and, upon\n\nrequest, to confer with the attorney for the state;\n\n11. To have victim impact statements filed with the judgment\n\nand sentence;\n\n12. To be informed if a sentence is overturned, remanded for a\n\nnew trial or otherwise modified by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal\n\nAppeals;\n\n13. To be informed in writing of all constitutional and\n\nstatutory rights. Upon initial contact with a victim, a municipal,\n\ncounty or state law enforcement officer shall provide the victim\n\nwith a written copy of the constitutional and statutory rights of\n\nthe victim unless, in the judgment of the law enforcement officer\n\nmaking the initial contact, the circumstances of the criminal\n\noffense or delinquent act and condition of the victim indicates that\n\nthe victim, family of the victim or dependents of the victim will\n\nnot be able to understand the significance of the constitutional and\n\nstatutory rights. If a written copy of the constitutional and\n\nstatutory rights is not provided upon initial contact with the\n\nvictim, a written copy of the rights shall be provided on the next\n\ncontact with the victim by a law enforcement officer with the same\n\nlaw enforcement agency no later than twenty-four (24) hours after\n\nthe initial contact. The Attorney General shall prepare and place\nand\n\nstatutory rights is not provided upon initial contact with the\n\nvictim, a written copy of the rights shall be provided on the next\n\ncontact with the victim by a law enforcement officer with the same\n\nlaw enforcement agency no later than twenty-four (24) hours after\n\nthe initial contact. The Attorney General shall prepare and place\n\non the official website of the Attorney General a sample\n\nnotification card listing all constitutional and statutory\n\nprovisions relative to the rights of victims. The card shall be\n\nsuitable for law enforcement agencies to download for the purpose of\n\nproviding the cards to victims in printed form. Law enforcement\n\nagencies may use the form prepared by the Attorney General or may\n\nprepare and use any other written notification form they see fit as\n\nlong as all rights under the Oklahoma Victim's Rights Act are\n\nincluded;\n\n14. To be informed that when any family member is required to\n\nbe a witness by a subpoena from the defense, there must be a showing\n\nthat the witness can provide relevant testimony as to the guilt or\n\ninnocence of the defendant before the witness may be excluded from\n\nthe proceeding by invoking the rule to remove potential witnesses\n\nand to refuse an interview or other request made by the accused or\n\nany person acting on behalf of the accused, other than a refusal to\n\nappear if subpoenaed by defense counsel;\n\n15. To be informed that the Oklahoma Constitution allows, upon\n\nthe recommendation of the Pardon and Parole Board and the approval\n\nof the Governor, the commutation of any sentence, including a\n\nsentence of life without parole;\n\n16. To receive written notification of how to access victim\n\nrights information from the interviewing officer or investigating\n\ndetective;\n\n17. To a speedy disposition of the charges free from\n\nunwarranted delay caused by or at the behest of the defendant or\n\nminor. In determining a date for any criminal trial or other\n\nimportant criminal or juvenile justice hearing, the court shall\n\nconsider the interests of the victim of a crime to a speedy\n\nresolution of the charges under the same standards that govern the\n\nright to a speedy trial for a defendant or a minor. In ruling on\n\nany motion presented on behalf of a defendant or minor to continue a\n\npreviously established trial or other important criminal or juvenile\n\njustice hearing, the court shall inquire into the circumstances\n\nrequiring the delay and consider the interests of the victim of a\n\ncrime to a speedy resolution of the case. If a continuance is\n\ngranted, the court shall enter into the record the specific reason\n\nfor the continuance and the procedures that have been taken to avoid\n\nfurther delays; and\n\n18. To any other rights enumerated in Section 34 of Article II\n\nof the Oklahoma Constitution.\n\nB. The office of the district attorney shall inform the crime\n\nvictim of an offense committed by a juvenile of the name and address\n\nof the juvenile found to have committed the crime, and shall notify\n\nthe crime victim of all court hearings involving that particular\n\njuvenile act. If the victim is not available, the office of the\n\ndistrict attorney shall notify an adult relative of the victim of\n\nsaid hearings.\n\nC. The office of the district attorney shall inform victims of\n\nviolent crimes and members of the immediate family of such victims\n\nof their rights under Sections 142A-8 and 142A-9 of this title and\n\nSection 332.2 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\nD. In any felony case involving a violent crime or a sex\n\noffense, the office of the district attorney shall inform the\n\nvictim, as soon as practicable, or an adult member of the immediate\n\nfamily of the victim if the victim is deceased, incapacitated, or\n\nincompetent, of the progress of pretrial proceedings which could\n\nsubstantially delay the prosecution of the case.\n7 of the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\nD. In any felony case involving a violent crime or a sex\n\noffense, the office of the district attorney shall inform the\n\nvictim, as soon as practicable, or an adult member of the immediate\n\nfamily of the victim if the victim is deceased, incapacitated, or\n\nincompetent, of the progress of pretrial proceedings which could\n\nsubstantially delay the prosecution of the case.\n\nE. The office of the district attorney shall inform the crime\n\nvictim that he or she has the right to utilize the automated\n\nnotification system provided by the designated Oklahoma victim\n\nnotification service provider for purposes of receiving information\n\nregarding the location of the defendant following an arrest, during\n\na prosecution of the criminal case, during a sentence to probation\n\nor confinement, and when there is any release or escape of the\n\ndefendant from confinement.\n\nF. The victim, the attorney for the victim or other lawful\n\nrepresentative, or the attorney for the state upon request of the\n\nvictim may assert in any trial or appellate court or before any\n\nother authority with jurisdiction over the case and have enforced\n\nall the rights enumerated in this section and any other right\n\nafforded to the victim by law. The court or other authority shall\n\nact promptly on such a request. The rights afforded victims under\n\nthe Oklahoma Victim's Rights Act shall be protected in a manner no\n\nless vigorous than the rights afforded the accused.","path":["OK Code","Title 21"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os21.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"12d5ae2b9a9192137284e47a44bf3845f4ce34bea606e992b9464a78f72f0c04","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-142a-14","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-142a-3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}