Opinion ID: 1155549
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: the proposed anti-abortion measure is a penal statute whose constitutional fitness lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court of criminal appeals

Text: There is another reason to defer this measure's consideration for constitutional testing until its adoption as law. The measure tested today in advance of its passage is at best a penal statute [36] whose constitutional fitness lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Criminal Appeals. [37] Extant Oklahoma case law gives a clear exposition of the dichotomy that governs our civil and criminal appellate cognizance. [38] The Court of Criminal Appeals has the exclusive power over matters incident or essential to the complete exercise of its appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases. [39] In Walters v. Ethics Com'n. [40] we abstained from taking jurisdiction over a matter relating substantially to criminal law or procedure. Final decisions upon the meaning of a penal enactment may not be made by any appellate tribunal other than the Court of Criminal Appeals. [41] This applies with equal force to a criminal-law measure in progress of adoption by the initiative process. B.