Oklahoma § 19-215.28 - District Attorneys Council

§ 19-215.28. District Attorneys Council

A. There is hereby created the District Attorneys Council which

shall be organized and administered as herein provided. Any

reference in the Oklahoma Statutes to the District Attorneys

Training Coordination Council shall mean the District Attorneys

Council.

B. The chief executive officer of the office of the Council is

the Executive Coordinator who shall be appointed and supervised by

the Council. The Executive Coordinator shall serve at the pleasure

of the Council. The Executive Coordinator shall be licensed to

practice law in Oklahoma and shall have been a district attorney or

assistant district attorney or have held an equivalent position in

state or federal government for at least three (3) years prior to

appointment. The Executive Coordinator may appoint an Assistant

Coordinator, both of whom shall be in the unclassified service of

the state. The Executive Coordinator and the Assistant Coordinator,

who shall also be licensed to practice law in Oklahoma, shall devote

full time to their duties and shall not engage in the private

practice of law. The Executive Coordinator shall perform the

functions and duties as may be assigned by the Council. The

Executive Coordinator shall be named the project director and fiscal

officer of any grant or fund received by the Council. The Executive

Coordinator and the Assistant Coordinator shall receive compensation

for their services within the pay scale limits for district

attorneys.

C. 1. The Council shall be composed of the following members:

a.

the Attorney General, or a designated representative

of the Attorney General,

b.

the President of the Oklahoma District Attorneys

Association,

c.

the President-elect of the Oklahoma District Attorneys

Association,

d.

one district attorney selected by the Court of

Criminal Appeals for a three-year term, and

e.

one district attorney selected by the Board of

Governors of the Oklahoma Bar Association for a threeyear term.

2. A member of the Council shall vacate the appointment upon

termination of the member's official position as Attorney General or

district attorney. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as

the original appointment. A member appointed to fill a vacancy

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 19. Counties and County Officers

created other than by expiration of a term shall be appointed for

the unexpired term of the member whom the appointed member is to

succeed in the same manner as the original appointment. Any member

may serve more than one term.

D. The Council shall designate from among its members a

Chairman and Vice Chairman who shall serve for one-year terms and

who may be reelected. Membership on the Council shall not

constitute holding a public office. The Council shall not have the

right to exercise any portion of the sovereign power of the state.

A member of the Council shall not be disqualified from holding any

public office or employment by reason of appointment or membership

on the Council, nor shall the member forfeit the office or

employment, by reason of appointment to the Council.

E. The Council shall meet at least four times in each year and

shall hold special meetings when called by the Chairman, or, in the

absence of the Chairman, by the Vice Chairman or when called by the

Chairman upon the written request of two members of the Council.

The Council shall establish its own procedures and requirements with

respect to quorum, place and conduct of its meetings and other

matters.

F. The members of the Council shall not receive a salary for

duties performed as members of the Council but shall be entitled to

be reimbursed for their travel expenses in accordance with the State

Travel Reimbursement Act.

G. The Council shall make an annual report to the Governor, the

President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, and the President of the Oklahoma District

Attorneys Association regarding its efforts to implement the

purposes of this section.

H. The Council shall have the power to perform such functions

as in its opinion shall strengthen the criminal justice system in

Oklahoma, to provide a professional organization for the education,

training and coordination of technical efforts of all state

prosecutors and to maintain and improve prosecutor efficiency and

effectiveness in enforcing the laws of this state including, but not

limited to, the following:

1. Organize, supervise and perform functions consistent with

this section;

2. Convene regional or statewide conferences and training

seminars for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this

section;

3. Accept and expend monies, gifts, grants or services from any

public or private source; contract or enter into agreements with

educational institutions or state or federal agencies; and employ

personnel as the Council in its judgment finds necessary to

effectively carry out the provisions of this section. Such

employees shall be in the unclassified service of the state;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 19. Counties and County Officers

4. Serve in an advisory capacity to the district attorneys of

the state;

5. Provide and coordinate training and continuing legal

education for district attorneys and their assistants, including

participation in nationally recognized prosecutorial seminars

conducted in other states. Subject to available funding, curriculum

for training required under this paragraph shall include, but not be

limited to:

a.

dynamics of domestic violence,

b.

the impact of domestic violence on victims and their

children including victim trauma and the neurobiology

of trauma,

c.

identifying dominant aggressor,

d.

tactics and behavior of batterers,

e.

victim protection orders and full faith and credit

under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994,

f.

rights of victims, and

g.

evidence-based practices regarding behavioral health

and treatment of those with substance abuse or mental

health needs;

6. Gather and disseminate information to district attorneys

relative to their official duties, including changes in the law

relative to their office;

7. Coordinate with law enforcement officers, the courts and

corrections workers providing interdisciplinary seminars to augment

the effectiveness of the criminal justice system;

8. Require statistical reports from district attorneys' offices

relating to functions and workload performance;

9. Recommend additional legislation necessary to upgrade the

Oklahoma District Attorneys System to professional status;

10. Establish an equitable distribution plan for allocation of

any funds or gifts received from public or private sources for state

prosecution and distribute such funds in accordance with such plan;

and

11. Appoint a larger Advisory Council made up of district

attorneys and assistant district attorneys to discuss problems and

hear recommendations concerning necessary research, minimum

standards, educational needs, and other matters imperative to

upgrading Oklahoma prosecution to professional status.

I. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a revolving

fund for the Council, to be designated the "District Attorneys

Council Revolving Fund". The fund shall consist of all monies

received by the Council other than appropriated funds. The

revolving fund shall be a continuing fund not subject to fiscal year

limitations and shall be under the control and management of the

Council. Expenditures from this fund shall be made pursuant to the

purposes of this act and without legislative appropriation.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 19. Counties and County Officers

Warrants for expenditures shall be drawn by the State Treasurer

based on claims signed by the authorized employee or employees of

the Council and approved for payment by the Director of the Office

of Management and Enterprise Services.

J. The Council may accept operation and supervision of the Law

Enforcement Assistance Administration grants presently being

administered by the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association.

Added by Laws 1976, c. 73, § 2, eff. July 1, 1976. Amended by Laws

1977, c. 40, § 4, eff. July 1, 1977. Renumbered from § 3311.1 of

Title 70 by Laws 1977, c. 40, § 5, eff. July 1, 1977. Amended by

Laws 1979, c. 47, § 6, emerg. eff. April 9, 1979; Laws 1980, c. 77,

§ 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1980; Laws 1982, c. 340, § 19, emerg. eff. June 2,

1982; Laws 1985, c. 178, § 13, operative July 1, 1985; Laws 1988, c.

109, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Laws 2008, c. 334, § 2, eff. Nov. 1,

2008; Laws 2012, c. 304, § 67; Laws 2017, c. 351, § 2, eff. Nov. 1,

2017.