Oklahoma § 22-831 - Order of trial proceedings

§ 22-831. Order of trial proceedings

The jury having been impaneled and sworn, the trial must proceed

in the following order:

1. If the indictment or information is for a felony, the clerk

or district attorney must read it, and state the plea of the

defendant to the jury. In other cases this formality may be

dispensed with.

2. The district attorney, or other counsel for the state, must

open the case and offer the evidence in support of the indictment or

information.

3. The defendant or defendant’s counsel shall give an opening

statement immediately after the opening statement of the district

attorney unless the defendant affirmatively reserves the opening

statement until the district attorney has rested the state’s case.

The defense may offer evidence after the close of the state’s case.

4. The parties may then, respectively, offer rebutting

testimony only, unless the court for good reason, in furtherance of

justice, or to correct an evident oversight, permit them to offer

evidence upon their original case.

5. When the evidence is concluded, the attorneys for the

prosecution may submit to the court written instructions. If the

questions of law involved in the instructions are to be argued, the

court shall direct the jury to withdraw during the argument, and

after the argument, must settle the instructions, and may give or

refuse any instructions asked, or may modify the same as he deems

the law to be. Instructions refused shall be marked in writing by

the judge, if modified, modification shall be shown in the

instruction. When the instructions are thus settled, the jury, if

sent out, shall be recalled and the court shall thereupon read the

instructions to the jury.

6. Thereupon, unless the case is submitted to the jury without

argument, the counsel for the state shall commence, and the

defendant or his counsel shall follow, then the counsel for the

state shall conclude the argument to the jury. During the argument

the attorneys shall be permitted to read and comment upon the

instructions as applied to the evidence given, but shall not argue

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 22. Criminal Procedure

to the jury the correctness or incorrectness of the propositions of

law therein contained. The court may permit one or more counsel to

address the jury on the same side, and may arrange the order in

which they shall speak, but shall not without the consent of the

attorneys limit the time of their arguments. When the arguments are

concluded, if the court be of the opinion that the jury might be

misled by the arguments of counsel, he may to prevent the same

further instruct the jury. All instructions given shall be in

writing unless waived by both parties, and shall be filed and become

a part of the record in the case.

R.L.1910, § 5870. Amended by Laws 2000, c. 262, § 1, eff. July 1,

2000.