Okla. Stat. tit. 22, § 22-1601

A. There is hereby created the Domestic Violence Fatality

Review Board within the Office of the Attorney General. The Board

shall have the power and duty to:

1. Coordinate and integrate state and local efforts to address

fatal domestic violence and create a body of information to prevent

domestic violence deaths;

2. Collect, analyze and interpret state and local data on

domestic violence deaths;

3. Develop a state and local database on domestic violence

deaths;

4. Improve the ability to provide protective services to

victims of domestic violence who may be living in a dangerous

environment;

5. Improve policies, procedures and practices within the

agencies that serve victims of domestic violence; and

6. Enter into agreements with other state, local or private

entities as necessary to carry out the duties of the Domestic

Violence Fatality Review Board including, but not limited to,

conducting joint reviews with the Child Death Review Board on

domestic violence cases involving child death or child near-death

incidents.

B. In carrying out its duties and responsibilities, the Board

shall:

1. Promulgate rules establishing criteria for identifying cases

involving a domestic violence death subject to specific, in-depth

review by the Board;

2. Conduct a specific case review of those cases where the

cause of death is or may be related to domestic violence;

3. Establish and maintain statistical information related to

domestic violence deaths, including, but not limited to, demographic

and medical diagnostic information;

4. Establish procedures for obtaining initial information

regarding domestic violence deaths from law enforcement agencies;

5. Review the policies, practices, and procedures of the

domestic violence protection and prevention system and make specific

recommendations to the entities comprising the domestic violence

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 22. Criminal Procedure Page 562

prevention and protection system for actions necessary for the

improvement of the system;

6. Review the extent to which the state domestic violence

prevention and protection system is coordinated with law enforcement

and the court system and evaluate whether the state is efficiently

discharging its domestic violence prevention and protection

responsibilities;

7. Request and obtain a copy of all records and reports

pertaining to a domestic violence death case of the victim,

perpetrator or any other person cohabitating in the domicile at the

time of the fatality that is under review, including, but not

limited to:

a. the report of the medical examiner,

b. hospital records,

c. school records,

d. court records,

e. prosecutorial records,

f. local, state, and federal law enforcement records,

including, but not limited to, the Oklahoma State

Bureau of Investigation (OSBI),

g. fire department records,

h. State Department of Health records, including birth

certificate records,

i. medical and dental records,

j. Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Services and other mental health records,

k. emergency medical service records,

l. files of the Department of Human Services,

m. records of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and

n. records in the possession of the Child Death Review

Board when conducting a joint review pursuant to

paragraph 6 of subsection A of this section.

Confidential information provided to the Board shall be maintained

by the Board in a confidential manner as otherwise required by state

and federal law. Any person damaged by disclosure of such

confidential information by the Board or its members which is not

authorized by law may maintain an action for damages, costs and

attorney fees pursuant to The Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act;

8. Maintain all confidential information, documents and records

in possession of the Board as confidential and not subject to

subpoena or discovery in any civil or criminal proceedings;
e of such

confidential information by the Board or its members which is not

authorized by law may maintain an action for damages, costs and

attorney fees pursuant to The Oklahoma Governmental Tort Claims Act;

8. Maintain all confidential information, documents and records

in possession of the Board as confidential and not subject to

subpoena or discovery in any civil or criminal proceedings;

provided, however, information, documents and records otherwise

available from other sources shall not be exempt from subpoena or

discovery through those sources solely because such information,

documents and records were presented to or reviewed by the Board;

9. Conduct reviews of specific cases of domestic violence

deaths and request the preparation of additional information and

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 22. Criminal Procedure Page 563

reports as determined to be necessary by the Board including, but

not limited to, clinical summaries from treating physicians,

chronologies of contact, and second opinion autopsies;

10. Report, if recommended by a majority vote of the Board, to

the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House

of Representatives any gross neglect of duty by any state officer or

state employee, or any problem within the domestic violence

prevention and protection system discovered by the Board while

performing its duties; and

11. Exercise all incidental powers necessary and proper for the

implementation and administration of the Domestic Violence Fatality

Review Board.

C. The review and discussion of individual cases of a domestic

violence death shall be conducted in executive session. All other

business shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the

Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. All discussions of individual cases and

any writings produced by or created for the Board in the course of

determining a remedial measure to be recommended by the Board, as

the result of a review of an individual case of a domestic violence

death, shall be privileged and shall not be admissible in evidence

in any proceeding. The Board shall periodically conduct meetings to

discuss organization and business matters and any actions or

recommendations aimed at improvement of the domestic violence

prevention and protection system which shall be subject to the

Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. Part of any meeting of the Board may be

specifically designated as a business meeting of the Board subject

to the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act.

D. The Board shall submit an annual statistical report on the

incidence and causes of domestic violence deaths in this state for

which the Board has completed its review during the past calendar

year including its recommendations, if any, to the domestic violence

prevention and protection system. The Board shall also prepare and

make available to the public, on an annual basis, a report

containing a summary of the activities of the Board relating to the

review of domestic violence deaths, the extent to which the state

domestic violence prevention and protection system is coordinated

and an evaluation of whether the state is efficiently discharging

its domestic violence prevention and protection responsibilities.

The report shall be completed no later than February 1 of the

subsequent year.