Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-2804
This is the official text of Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-2804, part of Oklahoma’s Stat. tit. 12, — part of the compiled statutory law of Oklahoma, published by the state as "Stat. tit. 12,." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Hearsay exception - Declarant unavailable
Official statutory text
A. "Unavailability as a witness", as used in this section,
includes the situation in which the declarant:
1. Is exempt by ruling of the court on the ground of privilege
from testifying concerning the subject matter or of the declarant's
statement;
2. Persists in refusing to testify concerning the subject
matter of the declarant's statement despite an order of the court to
do so;
3. Testifies to a lack of memory of the subject matter of the
declarant's statement;
4. Is unable to be present or to testify at the hearing because
of death or then existing physical or mental illness or infirmity;
or
5. Is absent from the hearing and the proponent of the
declarant's statement has been unable to procure the declarant's
attendance or, in the case of a hearsay exception under paragraphs
2, 3 or 4 of subsection B of this section, the declarant's
attendance or testimony, by process or other reasonable means.
A declarant is not unavailable as a witness if the declarant's
exemption, refusal, claim of lack of memory, inability or absence is
due to an act by the proponent of the declarant's statement for the
purpose of preventing the witness from attending or testifying.
B. The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if the
declarant is unavailable as a witness:
Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure Page 485
1. Testimony given as a witness at another hearing of the same
or another proceeding, or in a deposition taken in compliance with
law in the course of the same or another proceeding, if the party
against whom the testimony is now offered or, in a civil action or
proceeding, a predecessor in interest had an opportunity and similar
motive to develop the testimony by direct, cross or redirect
examination;
2. In a prosecution for homicide or in a civil action or
proceeding, a statement made by a declarant while believing that the
declarant's death was imminent, concerning the cause or
circumstances of what the declarant believed to be the declarant's
impending death;
3. A statement which was at the time of its making contrary to
the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary interest, or which tended
to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability, or to
render invalid a claim by the declarant against another, and which a
reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made
unless the declarant believed it to be true. A statement tending to
expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate
the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances
clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement. A statement
or confession offered against the accused in a criminal case, made
by a codefendant or other individual implicating both the
codefendant or other individual and the accused, is not within this
exception;
4. A statement concerning the declarant's own birth, adoption,
marriage, divorce, legitimacy, ancestry, relationship to another
person or other similar fact of personal or family history, even
though declarant had no means of acquiring personal knowledge of the
matter stated; or statement concerning the foregoing matters or
death of another person, if the declarant was related to that person
by blood, adoption or marriage or was so intimately associated with
the person's family as to be likely to have accurate information
concerning the matter declared; and
5. A statement offered against a party that wrongfully caused
or acquiesced in wrongfully causing the declarant's unavailability
as a witness, and did so intending that result.
includes the situation in which the declarant:
1. Is exempt by ruling of the court on the ground of privilege
from testifying concerning the subject matter or of the declarant's
statement;
2. Persists in refusing to testify concerning the subject
matter of the declarant's statement despite an order of the court to
do so;
3. Testifies to a lack of memory of the subject matter of the
declarant's statement;
4. Is unable to be present or to testify at the hearing because
of death or then existing physical or mental illness or infirmity;
or
5. Is absent from the hearing and the proponent of the
declarant's statement has been unable to procure the declarant's
attendance or, in the case of a hearsay exception under paragraphs
2, 3 or 4 of subsection B of this section, the declarant's
attendance or testimony, by process or other reasonable means.
A declarant is not unavailable as a witness if the declarant's
exemption, refusal, claim of lack of memory, inability or absence is
due to an act by the proponent of the declarant's statement for the
purpose of preventing the witness from attending or testifying.
B. The following are not excluded by the hearsay rule if the
declarant is unavailable as a witness:
Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure Page 485
1. Testimony given as a witness at another hearing of the same
or another proceeding, or in a deposition taken in compliance with
law in the course of the same or another proceeding, if the party
against whom the testimony is now offered or, in a civil action or
proceeding, a predecessor in interest had an opportunity and similar
motive to develop the testimony by direct, cross or redirect
examination;
2. In a prosecution for homicide or in a civil action or
proceeding, a statement made by a declarant while believing that the
declarant's death was imminent, concerning the cause or
circumstances of what the declarant believed to be the declarant's
impending death;
3. A statement which was at the time of its making contrary to
the declarant's pecuniary or proprietary interest, or which tended
to subject the declarant to civil or criminal liability, or to
render invalid a claim by the declarant against another, and which a
reasonable person in the declarant's position would not have made
unless the declarant believed it to be true. A statement tending to
expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate
the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances
clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement. A statement
or confession offered against the accused in a criminal case, made
by a codefendant or other individual implicating both the
codefendant or other individual and the accused, is not within this
exception;
4. A statement concerning the declarant's own birth, adoption,
marriage, divorce, legitimacy, ancestry, relationship to another
person or other similar fact of personal or family history, even
though declarant had no means of acquiring personal knowledge of the
matter stated; or statement concerning the foregoing matters or
death of another person, if the declarant was related to that person
by blood, adoption or marriage or was so intimately associated with
the person's family as to be likely to have accurate information
concerning the matter declared; and
5. A statement offered against a party that wrongfully caused
or acquiesced in wrongfully causing the declarant's unavailability
as a witness, and did so intending that result.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Oklahoma?
Find a Oklahoma lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.