§ 2 Force of common law.

Oklahoma still uses common law, which is the body of legal rules built up over time through court decisions rather than written laws passed by lawmakers. This common law stays in effect and works alongside the state's written statutes, but it has been shaped and updated by the state constitution, laws passed by the legislature, court rulings, and the changing needs of Oklahoma residents.

The rule also changes how courts must read Oklahoma's statutes. Under old common law tradition, courts were supposed to read new statutes narrowly if those statutes changed or replaced common law rules. Oklahoma rejects that approach. Instead, courts must read the state's general statutes broadly and in a way that supports what the law was trying to accomplish.

For someone involved in a court case, this means judges will not use old, narrow interpretation tricks to limit what a statute does. If a law was written to fix a problem or create a right, courts are supposed to apply it in a way that actually achieves that goal, rather than looking for technical reasons to limit its effect.