Advice of court or district attorney – Reproduction or disclosure of transcript - Who may be present.

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A. The grand jury may at all reasonable times ask the advice of the court or of the district attorney. In no event shall the grand jury be advised as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the evidence necessary to return a true bill, in a matter under investigation before them. The district attorney, with or without a regularly appointed assistant district attorney individually or collectively, or if the district attorney and all of his or her assistants are disqualified for any reason, a district attorney or assistant district attorney from another district, appointed by the Attorney General of Oklahoma pursuant to Sections 215.9 and 215.13 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and where proper, the Attorney General, or an assistant attorney general, may at all times appear before the grand jury for the purpose of giving information or advice relative to any matter cognizable before them and may interrogate witnesses before them whenever he or she thinks it necessary. A qualified court reporter shall be present and take the testimony of all witnesses.

B. Upon request a transcript of the testimony or any portion thereof shall be made available to an accused or the district attorney, at the expense of the requesting party or officer, and, in the event of an indigent accused, at the expense of the state. Any person who obtains a copy of a transcript shall not reproduce the transcript in whole or in part or otherwise disclose its contents to any person other than his or her attorney without leave of the court. Violation of this provision shall be punishable as contempt. Provided, nothing in this section shall prohibit the attorney for the accused, the district attorney or assistant district attorney from reproducing in whole or in part the transcribed testimony of a witness he or she anticipates calling to testify at trial and providing same to said witness for the sole purpose of preparing for trial.

C. No other person is permitted to be present during sessions of the grand jury except the members of the grand jury, the witness actually under examination, and one attorney representing such witness, except that an interpreter, when necessary, may be present during the interrogation of a witness; provided that, no person, except the members of the grand jury, shall be permitted to be present during the expression of juror opinions or the giving of votes upon any matter before the grand jury; provided further that neither the district attorney, nor an assistant district attorney, may be present or participate in an official capacity, as herein provided, during an investigation by the grand jury of the district attorney's office, or of any person officially associated with said office.

R.L. 1910, § 726; Laws 1961, p. 236, § 1; Laws 1965, c. 532, § 1; Laws 1967, c. 226, § 1, emerg. eff. May 2, 1967; Laws 1974, c. 60, § 1; Laws 1989, c. 179, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1989; Laws 1999, c. 147, § 1, emerg. eff. May 3, 1999.


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