Art XVIII Sec. 4 Ex-Officio Members

This rule explains who can join the Access to Justice Advisory Committee as non-voting members. These members are called "ex-officio" members, which means they sit on the committee because of another job or role they hold, not because they were elected to the committee itself.

The committee gets to decide who fills these advisory spots, and the rule lists specific positions that should be included. These include the incoming leaders of the Oklahoma Bar Association and Oklahoma Bar Foundation, along with representatives from groups that help people who cannot afford lawyers, like Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, and Oklahoma Indian Legal Services. The list also includes the chair of the OBA's own Access to Justice Committee and the public defenders from Tulsa County and Oklahoma County.

What this means in practice is that people from key legal aid and public defense organizations get a seat at the table when the committee discusses how to improve access to legal help. However, since these are non-voting positions, their role is to share information, offer advice, and bring their organization's perspective to the table rather than to vote on committee decisions.