AUGUST 2026 | 9 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. Legal Potpourri The Use and Abuse of Hearsay in Family Law Matters By Jessica Tueller and Monica Dionisio A statement that purports to narrate, describe, report, or explain an incident or incidents of domestic abuse as defined in Section 60.1 of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes: 1. Made by the victim of domestic abuse to a law enforcement officer within one (1) week of the incident; 2. On an application for a protective order by the victim of domestic abuse within one (1) week of the incident; or 3. Given as testimony of the victim of domestic abuse made at a hearing on application for a protective order, shall be admissible in pre-trial or post-trial criminal and juvenile delinquent domestic abuse prosecutions including preliminary hearings, prosecutive merit hearings, or hearings on the revocation of probation or acceleration of a deferred judgment.2 An earlier article in this journal raised constitutional and other concerns about the implications of this provision for criminal proceedings, to which the section is most immediately applicable.3 The article also flagged that, although the provision “is inapplicable to family and domestic matters,” it might indirectly affect matters such as child custody and visitation.4 Specifically, the article suggested that the interaction of 12 O.S. §2803.3 with 43 O.S. §109.3 (which requires evidence of domestic abuse to be considered in custody and visitation proceedings), might facilitate the indirect introduction of these out-of-court statements into civil proceedings.5 Although this issue has not yet been litigated due to how recently this provision was passed, practitioners expect that this statute will raise new evidentiary challenges in family matters. Even as the legislature has made moves that appear to make hearsay more flexible in family matters, certain legislators have put forward bills that propose to restrict the admissibility of hearsay in family law proceedings. In the second session of the 60th Legislature (2026), SB 1760 was introduced, which would amend 10A O.S. §1-4-601 to eliminate the use of hearsay in deprived proceedings, as well as raise the standard of proof in these proceedings from the preponderance of the evidence to beyond a reasonable doubt.6 At the same time, in the House, HB 3484 was introduced, which, among other things, would amend 10A O.S. §1-4-203 to prohibit the admission of hearsay in review hearings concerning the removal of children by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, and raise the standard of proof in these hearings from preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence.7 Although neither bill has made it out of committee, these proposals demonstrate that there are competing impulses in the Legislature when it comes to hearsay and family law. This article draws on both Oklahoma evidence law and federal constitutional law to contextualize these diverging developments. In doing so, this article IN NOVEMBER 2025, 12 O.S. §2803.3 ENTERED INTO EFFECT, creating an exception to the hearsay rule for statements pertaining to domestic abuse.1 Specifically, this section provides:
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