VICTIM’S RIGHTS - Help In Crisis

As a victim of the crime of domestic abuse, rape, or forcible sodomy, you have certain rights:
     1. To be notified that a court proceeding to which a victim or witness has been subpoenaed will or will not go on as scheduled, in order to save the person an unnecessary trip to court
     2. The right to recieve protection from any harm and threats of harm arising out of your cooperation with law enforcement and prosecution efforts, and to be provided with information as to the level of protection available and how to access protection;
     3. The right to be informed of financial assistance and other social services available as a result of being a witness or a crime victim, including information on how to apply for the assistance and services;
     4. To be informed of procedure to be followed in order to apply for and receive any witness fee to which the victim or witness is entitled;
     5. To be informed of the procedure to be followed in order to apply for and receive any restitution to which the victim is entitled;
     6. To be provided, whenever possible, a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does not require close proximity to defendants and families and friends of defendants;
     7. To have any stolen or other personal property expeditiously returned by law enforcement agencies when no longer needed as evidence. If feasible, all such property, except weapons, currency, contraband, property subject to evidentiary analysis and property the ownership of which is disputed, shall be returned to the person;
     8. To be provided with appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that employers of victims and witnesses will cooperate with the criminal justice process in order to minimize an employee's loss of pay and other benefits resulting from court appearances;
     9. To have the family members of all homicide victims afforded all of the services under this section, whether or not the person is to be a witness in any criminal proceedings;
    10. To be informed of any plea bargain negotiations;
    11. To have victim impact statements filed with the judgment and sentence;
    12. To be informed if a sentence is overturned, remanded for a new trial or otherwise modified by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals;
    13. To be informed that any sentence, including Life without Parole, may be commuted;
    14. To be informed in writing of all statutory rights;
    15. To be informed that when any family member is required to be a witness by a subpoena from the defense, there must be a showing that the witness can provide relevant testimony as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant before the witness may be excluded from the proceedings by invoking the rule to remove potential witnesses;
    16. To be notified by the Pardon & Parole Board of Pardon & Parole actions if you request notification;
    17. To be informed in felony cases involving violent crime or sex offenses when pre-trial proceedings may substantially delay prosecution;
    18. In sexual assault cases, to protect the identity of the victim, test results of the offender will be made available to the victims designated physician or counseling site as made known to the victim witness coordinator by the victim or to the victim witness coordinator if the victim so desires within three days of completion of the examination or testing. If designation has been made, the victim witness coordinator shall notify the victim's designated professional that the results are being forwarded and instruct the victim to set a time to receive the results in person. If no designation has been made by the victim, the victim witness coordinator will notify the victim within three days of completion of the examination or testing and set-up a time to deliver the results in person.

Contact the District Attorney's office for more information on any of the above services. If you wish to be notified, they will need a written request from you so they can flag their file. Your request should contain the name of the defendant, case number and county where charges were filed, and your current mailing address and phone number or the mailing address and phone number of someone who can contact you.

Provided by the District Attorney's Council