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

Everett R. Bennett Jr. entered guilty pleas to five misdemeanor offenses arising from incidents on February 11, 2015: DUI, expired/improper tag, driving under suspension, transporting an open container, and failure to carry insurance verification.
The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) transmitted certified copies of the Criminal Information and Plea and the sentence (including one-year suspended sentence with District Attorney supervision for the DUI and fines for the 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 a certified copy of a guilty plea and judgment and sentence; the OBA relied on this rule to seek interim suspension.
The Court entered an immediate interim suspension of Bennett from the practice of law and directed Bennett to show cause by June 16, 2017 why the suspension should be set aside; the OBA was given until June 27, 2017 to respond.
RGDP Rule 7.2 treats a certified guilty plea and judgment as conclusive evidence of the crime for disciplinary purposes; the Court set further deadlines under RGDP Rule 7.4 for Bennett to show cause, request a hearing, or submit mitigation evidence by July 13, 2017, and for the OBA to respond by July 31, 2017.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether certified guilty plea/judgment requires immediate interim suspension under RGDP Rule 7.3	Receipt of certified plea and judgment compels immediate suspension	Bennett may contest suspension and can show cause to set it aside	Court ordered immediate interim suspension under Rule 7.3
Whether certified plea/judgment constitutes conclusive evidence for discipline under RGDP Rule 7.2	Certified documents suffice as the charge and basis for discipline	Bennett can still present mitigation or request a hearing under RGDP	Court applied Rule 7.2; certified plea deemed conclusive for disciplinary process
Procedural timing for respondent to challenge suspension	OBA set specific show-cause deadline for respondent	Bennett entitled to file show-cause and seek hearing within prescribed deadlines	Court set June 16, 2017 for show-cause; OBA response due June 27, 2017
Procedure and timing for final discipline or mitigation under RGDP Rule 7.4	OBA may pursue final discipline based on certified conviction; court sets deadlines	Bennett may file written cause, request hearing, or submit mitigating evidence	Court set July 13, 2017 for Bennett's submissions; OBA response due July 31, 2017

None (no officially reported cases cited in the opinion).