OklahomaJury Nullification
In Oklahoma a statute has the court state all matters of law it thinks necessary, and the uniform instructions tell jurors to follow the law as stated in the judge's instructions. The constitution sets a jury of twelve for a felony and six for other juries. Every juror has to agree where more than six months in prison is possible. In other cases three fourths of the jurors can return a verdict.
Overview
Juries in Oklahoma
Oklahoma's statute on the charge says the court must state to the jury all matters of law which it thinks necessary. The uniform instructions tell jurors it is their job to determine the facts and to follow the law as stated in the judge's instructions.
A second Oklahoma statute covers the moment a judge advises a jury to acquit. It says the jury are not bound by the advice, and it says something about the court's power over a verdict as well. What it says is in the Oklahoma chapter of the guide.
The Oklahoma constitution sets a jury of twelve for a felony and six for other juries. Where more than six months in prison is possible, every juror must agree. In other cases three fourths of the jurors can return a verdict. What a juror who does not agree does then is in the chapter.
The Oklahoma chapter
What's in the Guide for Oklahoma?
Jury selection
How an Oklahoma judge runs the questioning of possible jurors, what the lawyers may add, and the kind of question the court rules tell them to stay away from.
What the judge tells you
What Oklahoma's uniform instructions ask a juror to commit to during selection and again once seated, and what the charging statute makes a judge say about the facts.
How the verdict works
How the number of Oklahoma jurors who must agree depends on the punishment, who signs a verdict that is not unanimous, and when the parties can agree to a smaller jury.
Protections and risks
How Oklahoma law keeps a deliberating jury together and private, who may speak to the jurors and about what, and what the constitution gives a juror who does not agree with the rest.
The law in plain English
The Oklahoma laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the statutes on the judge's charge, on advice to acquit and on how a jury deliberates, the district court rule on questioning jurors, and three sections of the state constitution.
Official state resources
Links to Oklahoma's official sources, each one checked. They cover the statutes, constitution and district court rules on the state courts network, and the uniform criminal jury instructions from the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Oklahoma?
An Oklahoma jury summons asks you to come to your county's court and, if you are picked, to determine the facts of a case. A felony jury is twelve people and other juries are six.
In Oklahoma jury service is run by the court clerk in each county. The clerk's office for your county handles reporting and requests to be excused.
The clerk covers the practical side. How jurors are questioned, what the instructions ask you to commit to, and how many jurors have to agree in your kind of case are covered in the Oklahoma chapter of the guide.
Your Oklahoma summons
- Sent byThe court clerk in your county
- Names come fromLicensed drivers and holders of a state ID license
- It asks you toCome to your county's court and, if you are picked, determine the facts of a case
- Jury size12 (felony), 6 (all other juries)