Post-conviction Relief
There is newly discovered evidence in a case for which I was previously convicted. Am I a candidate for post-conviction relief? Hi, I’m Oklahoma City Attorney Aaron Easton, and that’s the question we have before us today. In a previous video, I discussed the statutory right by those convicted of crimes in Oklahoma to apply to the District Court for post-conviction relief when newly discovered evidence of their innocence is brought forward.
And so today, I want to go over the meat of that issue, really, and the Court of Criminal Appeals has provided some insight in previous cases to determine exactly when newly discovered evidence qualifies or is important enough to result in either the overturning of a previous conviction or for the court to order a new trial in your case, some sort of relief for the conviction you’ve received. And I’m going to read from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals criteria on the four elements which makes newly discovered evidence grounds for the relief that we’re seeking.
The Four Elements for Newly Discovered Evidence
The first element is that the evidence must be material. The second evidence is that the newly discovered evidence, I’m sorry, the second element is that that newly discovered evidence could not have been discovered before trial with the reasonable diligence. So it’s not just enough that it wasn’t presented at trial. The court has to determine that it wasn’t presented and it couldn’t have been with your trial counsel doing their reasonable, diligent research. They couldn’t have presented it. It wasn’t available at that time.
The third element is that the newly discovered evidence is not cumulative, meaning that if it’s really similar to what’s already been presented at trial, and this is just another layer on top of something that’s already been presented, it’s not materially different than that, then it could be determined to be cumulative evidence. And then fourth, and this is an important part, that newly discovered evidence must create a reasonable probability that had it been introduced at trial, it would have changed the outcome, meaning it’s reasonable for the court to determine that you would not have been convicted if this evidence was presented at trial.
The materiality prong, the first prong of this test, and the reasonable probability of this test are pretty similar, and in a subsequent video, I will discuss specifically when evidence is material. But if you’re in a situation where you’ve been convicted of a crime in Oklahoma, whether you’re still imprisoned or you’ve been released, and you think there’s newly discovered evidence that could lead to you receiving some post-conviction relief, you’re going to want to speak to an attorney privately and confidentially about your case.
Take Action and Get a Initial Consultation
To speak to somebody at my firm for a initial consultation, you can reach us at 405-888-5400, or online at postconviction.lawyer.