When the case is finally submitted to the jury, they may decide in court or retire for deliberation. If they retire, they must be kept together, in some convenient place, under charge of an officer, until they agree upon a verdict or be discharged by the court, subject to the discretion of the court, to permit them to separate temporarily at night, and at their meals. The officer having them under his charge shall not suffer any communication to be made to them, or make any himself, except to ask them if they are agreed upon their verdict, unless by order of the court; and he shall not, before their verdict is rendered, communicate to any person the state of their deliberations, or the verdict agreed upon.
§ 580.Jury May Decide In Court Or Retire - Keeping Together - Communications to Jury Or Concerning Deliberations
Chapter 11: Trial · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 580 lets a jury deliberate in court or retire together under an officer's charge until it reaches a verdict, subject to the court's discretion to allow temporary separation at night and meals, and bars the officer from revealing the jury's deliberations before the verdict is rendered.
Full Text of § 580
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 5005.
Plain-English Summary
Once a case is finally submitted, the jury may decide right in court or retire to deliberate. If it retires, the jury must stay together in a convenient place, under an officer's charge, until it agrees on a verdict or is discharged -- though the court may, in its discretion, let the jurors separate temporarily at night and at meals.
The officer in charge has a two-way gag duty. The officer can't let anyone communicate with the jury, and can't communicate with the jury either, beyond asking whether they've agreed on a verdict, unless the court orders otherwise. And before the verdict is rendered, the officer can't tell anyone -- including the parties -- how the deliberations are going or what the jury has decided.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an Oklahoma jury have to leave the courtroom to deliberate?
No. The jury may decide in court or retire for deliberation once the case is finally submitted.
Can a jury be allowed to go home at night while deliberating?
Yes, at the court's discretion, the jury may be permitted to separate temporarily at night and at meals.
Can the officer in charge of the jury talk to them about the case?
Only to ask whether they've agreed on a verdict, unless the court orders otherwise; beyond that, the officer can't communicate with the jury or let anyone else do so.
Can the officer tell anyone how the jury's deliberations are going before the verdict?
No. The officer can't communicate the state of the jury's deliberations, or the verdict agreed on, to any person before the verdict is rendered.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: jury sequestration oklahomajury deliberation rules oklahomabailiff communication with jury oklahoma12 O.S. § 580