Sec 7.9 Transmittal of Record Relating to Finding of Noncompliance with an Order of Support

When a judge decides that someone has willfully failed to follow a child support or spousal support order, the judge must take a specific extra step. Within five days of making that decision, the judge has to send a certified copy of the order to the General Counsel of the Oklahoma Bar Association.

This rule applies when the person who failed to pay support is a lawyer. The Bar Association's General Counsel handles complaints and discipline against attorneys, so this rule makes sure they find out quickly when a court has ruled that a lawyer ignored a support order on purpose. This keeps the bar informed so they can look into whether the lawyer's conduct needs a professional response, separate from whatever happens in the support case itself.

The five day deadline is short on purpose. It means the court can't sit on this information, and the bar gets notified fast enough to act while the case is still fresh.