Discover Is Where Information Is Exchanged
Video Transcribed: What is an Allen Discovery Hearing in a criminal case? I am Stuart Ericson, I am an attorney in Wagoner. An Allen Discovery Hearing is a court hearing where both sides, the defendant and the state of Oklahoma, announce where the discovery process is. Discovery is all the information in the case.
It’s all the police reports, it’s all the witness statements, it’s all the videos, it’s all anything that the state has produced in their criminal case against you. From our perspective, it will also be any witnesses we have, any documents or exhibits we will want to introduce at trial. That is what discovery is. And the judge has some control over that to make sure that both sides are complying with this discovery process.
So you have a hearing in front of the judge, and the state of Oklahoma may announce, “Discovery is complete.” But as your attorney, if I know they’re still missing something, I’m going to say, “No. I don’t agree with that.
I don’t have this from the state.” And then the judge will resolve it, where both sides have turned over all the information that they might use at trial before a jury trial. Because in Oklahoma, there’s not supposed to be surprised jury trials.
The state of Oklahoma can’t call a witness that I’ve never heard about or have any information on. So it’s basically a jury trial not by surprise. Both sides will be prepared for a jury trial. If you need my help, reach out to wagonerlawyer.com and ask for Stuart Ericson, I am the Wagoner Criminal Defense Attorney.
