All the Evidence, All on the Table
Video Transcribed: Hi, I’m Oklahoma lawyer Stuart Ericson. Today we’ll discuss how discovery works in Oklahoma, in criminal cases.
Discovery is what attorneys call it and what the courts call it. And basically, it is, from the law enforcement side of things, it is all of their police reports, witness statements, fingerprint tests, ballistic tests, gunpowder tests, and photographs of the crime scene. Anything that they do in their investigation, all of their reports are to be turned over to the defense. And that is called discovery. Do we have discovery?
And of course, the opposite is true as well. If the defense has witnesses, statements from witnesses would need to be turned over to the state of Oklahoma prior to any criminal case. So there’s definitely a duty of both sides to provide discovery before trial.
Most courts set hearings that are called Alan Discovery Hearings, which is where the court gets involved. The state of Oklahoma appears, though usually an assistant district attorney. The defense appears with their attorney. And the court basically simply asks, is discovery complete?
Which is to say, hey, defense attorney, do you have everything from the state? Do you have all the police reports, witness statements, ballistic tests, or anything that they’ve done, do you have discovery?
And I would say, “Yes, Your Honor, I have everything.”
And then they would ask the state’s attorney, has the defense provided discovery? And if they say no, sometimes the defense doesn’t have any discovery to give. And if they do, it should be turned over.
So all of this is worked out before trial because there’s not supposed to be a jury trial by surprise, nothing can be held back. So if discovery is given late, that would be a good reason for the defense attorney to ask for a continuance. And say, I just received this. I don’t have enough time to review this prior to the trial. And so that sort of a motion would be given.
So again, discovery usually consists of all witness statements, every police officer and their written report, all the photographs that police took, and any expert analysis or reports that are produced. So that is what discovery is. And basically, it’s the police reports. And all of that is governed by statute and by our courts prior to a jury trial.
So if you have any questions about discovery, reach out to me, Wagoner criminal defense attorney Stuart Ericson at wagonerlawyer.com.
