SB 497: Criminal procedure; requiring Forensic Review Board to provide certain notice to district attorney. Effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Oklahoma's mental health adjudication procedures by clarifying how courts handle cases involving mental illness or mental defects, adding specific requirements for psychiatric evaluations, and establishing clearer standards for determining if a person is dangerous to public safety. The changes streamline the process for sentencing, probation, and post-conviction reviews while ensuring proper medical assessments are conducted.

Scope change

The bill applies to all criminal cases in Oklahoma where mental illness or mental defect is raised as a defense or where a person is adjudicated guilty with mental defect.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for Forensic Review Board to provide notice to district attorneys within 45 days of examination.

Mandated that juries must specify in verdicts whether acquittal was due to mental illness, affecting post-conviction procedures.

Added requirement for two qualified psychiatrists or one psychiatrist and one clinical psychologist to examine persons during hospitalization.

TIMELINE

Changed psychiatric evaluation timeline from 35 days to 45 days for initial examination and hearing requirements.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified that appellate courts can only order new trials or resentencing with recommendations to sentencing, not modify judgments directly.

DEFINITION

Added specific criteria for determining if a person requires continued supervision due to unresolved symptoms or treatment noncompliance.

Enrolled (final version) → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill updates the formatting and structure of an existing Oklahoma statute regarding mental illness defenses in criminal cases. The substantive legal content remains unchanged, but the document has been reformatted from a Senate version to a House floor version with different numbering and layout. No new policies, funding, or legal requirements were added or removed.

TECHNICAL

Document formatting changed from Senate enrolled version to House floor version with different page numbering and layout structure

Bill header information updated to reflect House of Representatives floor version instead of Senate enrolled version

Statutory section numbering and paragraph formatting adjusted to match House floor markup conventions

Engrossed → Enrolled (final version) · 3 edits · May 7, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized and enrolled for signature, with minor formatting adjustments and some reorganization of text. The core substantive provisions regarding mental illness adjudications, sentencing, and treatment requirements remain unchanged from the engrossed version.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill header from 'ENGROSSED SENATE' to 'ENROLLED SENATE', indicating the bill has passed both chambers and is in its final form ready for the governor's signature.

Reorganized the text layout and line breaks, particularly in the forensic review procedures and examination requirements sections, without altering the substantive legal meaning.

Added a subject line 'Forensic Review Board' which appears to be a formatting addition for reference purposes rather than a substantive policy change.

Introduced → Engrossed · 4 edits · Mar 10, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates Oklahoma's mental illness defense procedures in criminal cases, clarifying how courts handle defendants who claim mental illness at the time of their crime. The changes streamline the process for determining whether a defendant should be treated as mentally ill or sentenced normally, and establish clearer timelines for psychiatric evaluations and hearings.

Scope change

The bill maintains the same scope of applying to criminal cases involving mental illness defenses but adds more specific procedural requirements for court hearings and psychiatric evaluations.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific requirements for psychiatric examinations during probation, including a 45-day timeline for the Department of Mental Health to provide treatment recommendations.

Added requirement that district attorneys must prove dangerousness by a preponderance of the evidence during court hearings.

TIMELINE

Established a 10-day deadline for courts to conduct hearings after psychiatric reports are filed, determining whether a defendant is dangerous to public safety.

TECHNICAL

Updated formatting and page numbering throughout the document to reflect the engrossed version of the bill.

Criminal procedure; requiring Forensic Review Board to provide certain notice to district attorney. Effective date.

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