NOVEMBER 2025 | 45 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. LIMITATIONS ON THE RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL While A.E. v. State affirmed the constitutional right to trial by jury in Oklahoma, the court noted that this right may be given up “by voluntary consent or waiver.”14 Exactly what qualifies as “voluntary consent or waiver” is an ongoing issue in the appellate courts. Inaction often qualifies. For example, in Matter of E.J.T., the Oklahoma Supreme Court explored whether the mother’s failure to act waived her right to a jury trial.15 After the state moved to terminate her rights, a court minute was filed claiming the mother waived trial by jury and requested a bench trial. The mother was served with a copy of this minute but never asserted that its contents were incorrect. When a bench trial was later held, the mother never objected to proceeding this way or otherwise demanded a trial by jury until she raised the error on appeal. By failing to demand a jury at the trial level in any way, the court held that the mother waived her right to the same. Nevertheless, the right to a jury trial can be lost even when it has been demanded. Currently, the Oklahoma children’s code empowers trial courts to deem a party’s right to a jurytrial waived if they fail to appear “for such trial.”16 Previously, as decided by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in Matter of H.M.W., failing to appear “for such trial” only waived the right to be present and required a trial by jury in absentia.17 However, the Oklahoma Legislature subsequently amended that part of the children’s code and removed the language that created this result. As such, jury trials in absentia in termination cases are no longer permitted under that particular statute.18 While Matter of H.M.W. is no longer good law on this issue, Demographics of children in foster care, as of September 2024. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. View at http://bit.ly/47amlT4.
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