THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 28 | FEBRUARY 2026 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. with a razor-thin margin for error. Specifically, S.B. 607 raises four constitutional concerns: 1) It runs afoul of the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause, 2) it undermines due process, 3) it blurs the burden for proving domestic abuse, and 4) it lacks recourse for the defendant, especially when protective orders are used in family and domestic matters for any purpose other than their intended purpose. S.B. 607 may remain unworkable until these constitutional concerns are addressed. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Virginia D. Henson is a sole practitioner in Norman, where she practices primarily in the area of family law. She is a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Ms. Henson was the recipient of the 2020 Golden Quill Award and is a frequent CLE presenter. Margaret A. East is the managing programs attorney at Oklahoma Lawyers for Families and Children, where she exclusively practices family and juvenile law. Her practice is informed by her own adoption and her extensive educational and professional backgrounds in the fields of child maltreatment and domestic violence. Mahak H. Merchant is a 3L at the OU College of Law and serves as editorin-chief of the Oklahoma Law Review. She is a research assistant and a 10th Circuit Year-in-Review Fellow, which informs her passion for legal scholarship. ENDNOTES 1. Jordan Fremstad, “Oklahoma Sees Record Domestic Violence Homicides, YWCA Remains Optimistic About Policy Changes,” News 9 (Feb. 20, 2025), https://bit.ly/3Z31QnD [https://perma.cc/42BJ-EEGP]; Okla. Domestic Violence Fatality Review Bd., 2024 Annual Report 18, 20 (2025); see also Alyse Jones, “OCPD Reports 5 Domestic Violence Homicides in 2025, Highlighting Statewide Problem,” KOCO 5 News (July 31, 2025), https://bit.ly/4jxqwhG [https://perma.cc/2BQ9-4J87]. 2. Okla. Stat. tit. 12, §2803.3 (2025). 3. See Okla. Const. art. VI, §11 (stating if a bill is not returned by the governor in five days, it shall become a law as if the governor had signed it). 4. Okla. Stat. tit. 12, §2803.3 (2025) (emphasis added). 5. Id.; see Okla. Stat. tit. 22, §60.1(2) (2024) (emphasis added). 6. See Curry v. Streater, 2009 OK 5, ¶¶9, 21, 213 P.3d 550, 554-55, 557 (reversing the trial court’s issuance of a protective order because “there was no evidence of an act of physical harm”). 7. E.g., BS&B Safety Systems, LLC v. Edgerton, 2023 OK 89, ¶3, 535 P.3d 1283, 1284. 8. See Toch, LLC v. City of Tulsa, 2020 OK 81, ¶25, 474 P.3d 859, 867. 9. Statements applicable in S.B. 607 would still be hearsay in family and domestic matters. See infra notes 29-33. 10. See Okla. Stat. tit. 43, §§109.3, 112.2(A)(4), (7), (B)(4), (7). 11. The Oklahoma Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board’s (DVFRB) annual report for 2024 recommended a hearsay exception for domestic abuse. The DVFRB recommendation is somewhat dissimilar from what was ultimately enacted as S.B. 607. The DVFRB explicitly mentioned hearsay that falls within an exception like S.B. 607 may still be inadmissible if it violates the confrontation clause. A domestic abuse victim must usually testify, and the DVFRB’s proposed language circumvented the confrontation clause issue by making it so a victim only has to testify once. Okla. Domestic Violence Fatality Review Bd., 2024 Annual Report 18, 20 (2025) https://bit.ly/4qcf2CC. 12. U.S. Const. amend. VI. 13. Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 53-54 (2004). 14. Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813, 822 (2006). 15. Id. 16. 2023 OK CR 12, ¶15, 533 P.3d 354, 360. 17. Id. 18. Id. (citing Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 68-69 (2004)). 19. Id. 20. DVFRB Annual Report supra note 11 at 18. 21. Id. at 17 (“[A] defendant’s right to confrontation must be upheld.”). 22. Okla. Stat. tit. 12, §1. 23. Okla. Stat. tit. 22, §60.1. 24. See Okla. Stat. tit. 43, §§109.3, 112.2(E)(2). 25. See Brown v. Brown, 1993 OK CIV APP 142, 867 P.2d 477; Smith v. Smith, 1998 OK CIV APP 71, 963 P.2d 24. 26. See Kite v. Culbertson, 2025 OK 3, ¶15, 565 P.3d 38, 43 (holding the clear purpose of the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act is preventative and provides immediate civil relief for victims protected by its provisions). 27. See, e.g., Marquette v. Marquette, 1984 OK CIV APP 25, 686 P.2d 990; O’Brien v. Berry, 2016 OK CIV APP 28, 370 P.3d 836. 28. 1984 OK CIV APP 25, ¶¶7, 10-11, 686 P.2d 990, 993-94. 29. Id. 30. Id. at ¶10. 31. 2016 OK CIV APP 28, ¶9, 370 P.3d 836, 839. 32. See, e.g., Kite v. Culbertson, 2025 OK 3, 565 P.3d 38; Murlin v. Pearman, 2016 OK 47, 371 P.3d 1094; Curry v. Streater, 2009 OK 5, 213 P.3d 550. 33. Kite v. Culbertson, 2025 OK 3, ¶15, 565 P.3d 38, 43 (citing Murlin v. Pearman, 2016 OK 47, ¶27, 371 P.3d 1094); see also Curry v. Streater, 2009 OK 5, ¶10, 213 P.3d 550, 555. 34. Id. (citing Curry v. Streater, 2009 OK 5, ¶10, 213 P.3d 550, 555) (emphasis added). 35. Id. (citing Murlin v. Pearman, 2016 OK 47, ¶27, 371 P.3d 1094, 1099). 36. Alyse Jones, “OCPD Reports 5 Domestic Violence Homicides in 2025, Highlighting Statewide Problem,” KOCO 5 News (July 31, 2025), https://bit.ly/3Yv3SNi. 37. Kite v. Culbertson, 2025 OK 3, ¶15, 565 P.3d 38, 43 (internal citations omitted). 38. Okla. Stat. tit. 43, §109.3; see also Okla. Stat. tit. 43, §109A (“In awarding the custody of a minor ... the court shall consider what appears to be in the best interests of the physical and mental and moral welfare of the child”). 39. In re Walters, 2025 OK CIV APP 3, ¶¶2027, 564 P.3d 914, 923-26. 40. See supra notes 25-33 and accompanying text. 41. Okla. Stat. tit. 22, §60.4(I)(1). 42. Id. at §60.4(I)(2). 43. Id. at §60.4(H)(1) (“It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly and willfully seek a protective order against a spouse or ex-spouse pursuant to the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act for purposes of harassment, undue advantage, intimidation, or limitation of child visitation rights in any divorce proceeding or separation action.”).
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