§ 301 Manner of prosecution of offenses.

Here's what this rule means for criminal cases in Oklahoma.

If someone is charged with a felony, the case has to move forward through either an indictment or an information. An indictment comes from a grand jury that reviews evidence and decides there's enough to charge someone. An information is a formal charging document that a prosecutor files directly with the court, without needing a grand jury.

Misdemeanor cases usually work a bit differently. Most of the time, they're handled through an information filed by the prosecutor, not through a grand jury indictment. But there's an exception: a judge can decide that a specific misdemeanor case should go to a grand jury instead. If the judge orders this, then that misdemeanor can be charged by indictment just like a felony would be.

Basically, this rule sets up the two main paths a criminal charge can take to officially start a case, either through a grand jury or through a prosecutor's filing, and explains when each path applies depending on whether the charge is a felony or misdemeanor.