Material Evidence in the Context of Post-Conviction Relief
Hi, I’m Oklahoma City Attorney Aaron Easton and today we’re going to discuss the definition of material evidence in the context of post-conviction relief. This is the third part of a series in which I discuss the rights of those who have been convicted in Oklahoma to apply to the court for post-conviction relief upon the discovery of newly discovered evidence. We talked about that in the first part, in the second part we talked about the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals four-part test for determining if the newly discovered evidence was good enough for you to get the relief that you seek.
And today I want to talk about a deeper dive into the first element in the Court of Criminal Appeals discussion on newly discovered evidence, which is that the evidence must be material. And that has a specific legal definition in this context. And I’m going to read here from some of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decisions regarding that. They have said that new evidence is material if there is a quote, reasonable probability that had that evidence been utilized by the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.
Which does beg the question, what is a reasonable probability? And the definition the Court of Criminal Appeals has given for that is a reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the trial. So on post-conviction application, it is the petitioner’s burden, the person who was convicted of the crime, to prove that the evidence they have that is newly discovered has a reasonable probability that it would undermine the state’s case against them.
Considering New Evidence in a Holistic Way
Now an important part of this and a good part for the person applying for post-conviction relief is the court, when they’re presented with newly discovered evidence, they don’t just view that evidence in a vacuum. They have to review it in a holistic way. They have to consider both the old evidence that was used against you at trial, or evidence that the defense presented itself, as well as the newly discovered evidence in this one big pot that they’ve got to look at everything. What they’re trying to do is trying to assess how a reasonable juror would react to all of that evidence in totality.
So if the court determines that the newly discovered evidence does undermine the state’s case against you, they can order your conviction be overturned, they can order you have a new trial, or really any relief that the court determines is necessary based on this newly discovered evidence.
Consult with an Attorney for Post-Conviction Relief
If you’re in a situation where you have been convicted of a crime, whether you’re currently in prison or not, and there is evidence that’s newly discovered in your case, or you think there might be, or that with reasonable investigation you could find some newly discovered evidence, you’re going to want to speak to an attorney privately and confidentially about the specifics of your case.
To do so with an attorney from my firm, for a initial consultation, you can reach us at 405-888-5400, or online at postconviction.lawyer.