Okla. Stat. tit. 10A, § 10A-2-5-202

A. For the purposes of the Youthful Offender Act:

1. "Youthful offender" means a person:

a. thirteen (13) or fourteen (14) years of age who is

charged with murder in the first degree and certified

as a youthful offender as provided by Section 2-5-205

of this title,

b. fifteen (15), sixteen (16), or seventeen (17) years of

age and charged with a crime listed in subsection C of

Section 2-5-205 of this title, and

c. sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age and

charged with a crime listed in subsection E of Section

2-5-205 of this title,

if the offense was committed on or after November 1, 2022; provided,

the state shall not base the timing of the filing of any charges

solely on the applicability of the Youthful Offender Act;

2. "Sentenced as a youthful offender" means the imposition of a

court order making disposition of a youthful offender as provided by

Section 2-5-209 of this title which shall constitute an adult

criminal sentence if the youthful offender is transferred to the

custody or supervision of the Department of Corrections;

3. "Next friend" means an individual or executive of an

organization who has assumed a parental role without formal legal

proceedings, but to all objective observers is readily identified as

custodian or guardian in fact;

4. "Certification as an adult" means a person for whom the

court has granted a motion for the imposition of an adult sentence

pursuant to subsection C of Section 7 of this act;

5. "Certification as a juvenile" means a person for whom the

court has granted a motion for certification as a juvenile pursuant

to subsection B of Section 6 of this act;

6. "Certification study" means a report prepared for the court

by the Office of Juvenile Affairs that includes but is not limited

to information related to the circumstances of an offense, any

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injury that may have occurred, the history of the person in the

juvenile justice system, and a psychological evaluation. Such study

shall address the guidelines established in subsection B of Section

6 of this act; and

7. "Juvenile delinquent" means a person who is accused of

committing an act which could be prosecuted under subsection A, B,

C, D, or E of Section 2-5-205 of this title and against whom the

district attorney has chosen to file a petition alleging the person

as delinquent.

B. It is the purpose of the Youthful Offender Act to better

ensure the public safety by holding youths accountable for the

commission of serious crimes, while affording courts methods of

rehabilitation for those youths the courts determine, at their

discretion, may be amenable to such methods. It is the further

purpose of the Youthful Offender Act to allow those youthful

offenders whom the courts find to be amenable to rehabilitation by

the methods prescribed in the Youthful Offender Act to be placed in

the custody or under the supervision of the Office of Juvenile

Affairs for the purpose of accessing the rehabilitative programs

provided by that Office.

C. It is the intent of the Legislature to fully utilize the

Youthful Offender Act as a means to protect the public while

rehabilitating and holding youth accountable for serious crimes.

The Legislature finds that eligible seventeen-year-olds should have

the opportunity to be processed as youthful offenders as provided by

law and held accountable through the provisions of the Youthful

Offender Act for custody, institutional placement, supervision,

extended jurisdiction within the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA),

and the ability to transfer youthful offenders to the Department of

Corrections when incarceration or additional supervision is required

beyond the maximum age allowed in the OJA. No older youth should be

deemed ineligible or denied consideration as a youthful offender who

is otherwise lawfully eligible based upon the age of the youth being
diction within the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA),

and the ability to transfer youthful offenders to the Department of

Corrections when incarceration or additional supervision is required

beyond the maximum age allowed in the OJA. No older youth should be

deemed ineligible or denied consideration as a youthful offender who

is otherwise lawfully eligible based upon the age of the youth being

seventeen (17) years, but it is the intent of the Legislature that

such youthful offender shall not remain in the custody or under the

supervision of the OJA beyond the youthful offender's maximum age of

eighteen (18) years and six (6) months or until nineteen (19) years

of age if jurisdiction has been extended as provided in subsection D

of Section 9 of this act. To deny access to an otherwise eligible

older youth without cause is to circumvent the original intent of

the Legislature in creating the Youthful Offender Act.

D. Unless otherwise provided by law, when a court determines

that a youthful offender has successfully completed his or her

treatment and rehabilitation plan and is discharged by the court

without a court judgment of guilt and the case dismissed with

prejudice, the arrest or adjudication record does not have to be

disclosed for the purposes of employment, civil rights, or any

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regulation, license, questionnaire, application, or any other public

purpose. Any prohibition regarding possession of firearms pursuant

to Section 1283 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall still be

applicable.

E. In any case for which the court orders a certification

study, the district attorney shall provide to the Office of Juvenile

Affairs (OJA) a copy of any police report and all other relevant

documents or information in the possession of the district attorney

or any other law enforcement agency that has reported to the

district attorney in the case, which should be considered in

preparing the ordered report. The police reports, any report from

the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and any other relevant

documents or information as available, shall be provided to the OJA

within five (5) business days of the issuance of the order.

F. In any case for which the court orders a certification

study, the attorney for the youth is ordered to provide to OJA the

names and contact information of the youth's parents, guardians, or

next friend, along with any relevant documents or information the

youth requests OJA to consider in the preparation of the ordered

report. The names and contact information and any other documents

or information shall be provided to OJA within five (5) business

days of the issuance of the order.