Okla. Stat. tit. 19, § 215.33
Victims and Witnesses Services
Effective Jun 10, 1996Added by Laws 1981, HB 1005, c. 219, § 2; Renumbered from 19 O.S. § 215.15a by Laws 1982, SB 444, c. 340, § 25, emerg. eff. June 2, 1982; Amended by Laws 1987, HB 1458, c. 224, § 5, eff. November 1, 1987; Amended by Laws 1988, HB 1973, c. 109, § 8, eff. November 1, 1988; Amended by Laws 1991, HB 1761, c. 296, § 25, eff. September 1, 1991; Amended by Laws 1992, SB 816, c. 136, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 1992; Amended by Laws 1993, SB 451, c. 325, § 1, emerg. eff. June 7, 1993; Amended by Laws 1993, HB 1532, c. 302, § 2 (repealed by Laws 1994, HB 2299, c. 2, § 34, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994); Amended by Laws 1994, HB 2299, c. 2, § 7, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994; Amended by Laws 1996, HB 2271, c. 292, § 1, emerg. eff. June 10, 1996.
A. The district attorney's office shall inform the victims and witnesses of crimes of the following services:
- 1. To be notified that a court proceeding to which they have been subpoenaed will not go on as scheduled, in order to save the person an unnecessary trip to court;
- 2. To receive protection from harm and threats of harm arising out of their cooperation with law enforcement and prosecution efforts, and to be provided with information as to the level of protection available;
- 3. To be informed of financial assistance and other social services available as a result of being a witness or a victim of a crime, including information on how to apply for the assistance and services;
- 4. To be informed of the procedure to be followed in order to apply for and receive any witness fee to which they are entitled;
- 5. To be provided, whenever possible, a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does not require them to be in close proximity to defendants and families and friends of defendants;
- 6. To have any stolen or other personal property expeditiously returned by law enforcement agencies when no longer needed as evidence. If feasible, all such property, except weapons, currency, contraband, property subject to evidentiary analysis and property the ownership of which is disputed, shall be returned to the person;
- 7. To be provided with appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that employers of victims and witnesses will cooperate with the criminal justice process in order to minimize an employee's loss of pay and other benefits resulting from court appearances;
- 8. To have the family members of all homicide victims afforded all of the services under this section, whether or not they are witnesses in any criminal proceedings;
- 9. To be informed of any plea bargain and to have victim impact statements filed with the judgment and sentence; and
- 10. To be informed if a sentence is overturned, remanded for a new trial or otherwise modified by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
- B. Victim-witness coordinators may inform the victim of a crime committed by a juvenile of the name and address of the juvenile found to have committed the crime, and shall notify the victim of a crime listed in Section 1104.2 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes of all court hearings involving that particular juvenile act. If the victim is not available, the victim-witness coordinator shall notify an adult relative of the victim of said hearings.
- C. Victim-witness coordinators shall inform victims of violent crimes, as defined in Section 984 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and members of the immediate family of such victims of their rights under Sections 984.1 and 984.2 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes and Section 332.2 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
- D. In any felony case involving a violent crime or a sex offense, the victim-witness coordinator shall inform the victim, as soon as practicable, or an adult member of the immediate family of the victim if the victim is deceased, incapacitated, or incompetent, of the progress of pretrial proceedings which could substantially delay the prosecution of the case.
- E. All victim-witness coordinators appointed to perform the services specified in subsection A of this section shall complete a minimum of twelve (12) hours in-service training annually. Said training shall be conducted pursuant to the direction of the District Attorneys Council and the Crime Victims Compensation Board.
Added by Laws 1981, HB 1005, c. 219, § 2; Renumbered from 19 O.S. § 215.15a by Laws 1982, SB 444, c. 340, § 25, emerg. eff. June 2, 1982; Amended by Laws 1987, HB 1458, c. 224, § 5, eff. November 1, 1987; Amended by Laws 1988, HB 1973, c. 109, § 8, eff. November 1, 1988; Amended by Laws 1991, HB 1761, c. 296, § 25, eff. September 1, 1991; Amended by Laws 1992, SB 816, c. 136, § 1, emerg. eff. July 1, 1992; Amended by Laws 1993, SB 451, c. 325, § 1, emerg. eff. June 7, 1993; Amended by Laws 1993, HB 1532, c. 302, § 2 (repealed by Laws 1994, HB 2299, c. 2, § 34, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994); Amended by Laws 1994, HB 2299, c. 2, § 7, emerg. eff. March 2, 1994; Amended by Laws 1996, HB 2271, c. 292, § 1, emerg. eff. June 10, 1996.