STATE ex rel. OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION v. BENNETT, 2017 OK 46

Everett R. Bennett Jr. pled guilty on February 11, 2015 to multiple misdemeanors arising from the same incident: DUI, expired/improper tag, driving under suspension, transporting an open container, and failure to carry proof of insurance.
The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) forwarded certified copies of the Criminal Information, Plea, and the sentence (one year suspended with District Attorney supervision for the DUI; fines for other offenses) to the Oklahoma Supreme Court under the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings (RGDP).
RGDP Rule 7.3 directs the Supreme Court to immediately suspend an attorney upon receipt of certified judgment and sentence from a guilty plea; the Court applied this rule and ordered immediate interim suspension of Bennett from the practice of law.
The Court set a show-cause deadline (June 16, 2017) for Bennett to contest the interim suspension and established a deadline for the OBA to respond (June 27, 2017).
Under RGDP Rule 7.2, a certified guilty plea constitutes conclusive evidence of the crime for disciplinary purposes; Rule 7.4 gives Bennett until July 13, 2017 to show cause, request a hearing, or submit mitigation materials and gives the OBA until July 31, 2017 to respond.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether certified guilty plea/sentence requires immediate interim suspension under RGDP Rule 7.3	OBA: Certified plea and judgment trigger mandatory immediate suspension	Bennett: (not presented in order; opportunity to show cause later)	Court ordered immediate interim suspension per Rule 7.3
Whether a certified plea constitutes conclusive evidence for discipline under RGDP Rule 7.2	OBA: Certified plea suffices as the charge and is conclusive proof of the crime for disciplinary action	Bennett: (may later contest or submit mitigation; no immediate factual dispute permitted to avoid suspension)	Court confirmed that certified plea is conclusive evidence and suffices as basis for discipline
Deadlines and process for contesting discipline and seeking mitigation under RGDP Rule 7.4	OBA: Provide response and proceed with disciplinary process within rules’ deadlines	Bennett: Entitled to show cause, request hearing, or submit mitigation by specified deadline	Court set specific deadlines: Bennett to show cause by 7/13/2017 (and may request hearing/submit mitigation); OBA to respond by 7/31/2017

No reported cases cited in the opinion (the decision rests on the RGDP and the certified criminal plea and sentence).