What Is Discovery in an Oklahoma DUI Case?

When a person is accused of a crime in Oklahoma—including the crime of DUI—it is up to the prosecution to provide evidence that will convince a judge or jury that the accused person is, in fact, guilty.

However, the accused person—or defendant—has a right to know exactly what evidence the prosecution plans to bring against him or her.

The process through which this information is exchanged between the prosecution and the defendant’s attorney is called discovery.

Information Passed through Discovery

Once we are retained on a case, we file a formal request for discovery and an open records request for further evidence. The prosecution is obligated to turn over all evidence that it plans to bring to trial. This includes any information or evidence that could be considered beneficial to your defense. However, the State doesn’t have to provide this information until 10 days before trial.

In DUI cases, information passed through discovery typically includes:

• The results of any chemical blood alcohol concentration tests the defendant participated in
• The police report filed by the arresting officer
• Any testimony given by the arresting officer and/or other witnesses
• The identity of any witnesses that the prosecution plans to call during trial
• Any other photographs or documents the prosecution plans to enter as evidence

Filing for Discovery

As your legal counsel, one of the first things we do is file the formal discovery and open records requests to ensure that we obtain all relevant evidence in your case. Additionally, we may also issue subpoenas if we feel the prosecution is not forthcoming with information.  

This is such an important part of the case that the Hunsucker Legal Group is one of the only firms in the state that has a full time private investigator on staff to identify and obtain discovery and evidence for our clients.

If you are facing a DUI charge in Oklahoma, contact our office to learn more about discovery and what we can do to help you reach the most favorable resolution to your case.