Timely manner to file a court order?

I will try to make this as brief as possible. My dear friend was sentenced to jail for contempt of court for nonpayment of child support. At the contempt hearing, the judge stated that he would have to pay $2200 to purge the contempt OR stay in jail for 30 days.

My friend was not represented by a lawyer at the time because his lawyer withdrew due to financial reasons. It is my understanding that it is the responsibility of his ex-wife’s attorney to write up the order and then have it signed by the judge so it can be filed.

My friend has been in jail for over 2 weeks now and the court order has still not been filed. When asking about his release date at the jail, he was told that he doesn’t have one. I assume this is because the order has not been filed and the jail has no idea that he is only supposed to stay for 30 days if he cannot pay the money to purge his contempt.

Is there a timely manner that things like this are supposed to be completed? How are we supposed to find out when he gets out of jail if the attorney is dragging his feet on the order? My friend is very scared right now that he is just going to sit in jail forever because he can’t afford to pay. What can be done about this?

Thank you.

Court orders often take a few weeks to complete, but the judge’s order is effective even without the written order. Your friend’s release date will be 30 days after his intake.

Thank you for your response.

How does the jail know they are supposed to release him if they have no record that the judge stated 30 days?

I would suggest you speak to the administration in the jail, they have to have some record of the order.