Georgia CommonsIn the Matter of Susan Janette Lopez
Presentada el 16 de agosto de 2023 · Expediente S23Y1047 · 316 Ga. 894
The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's request to give up her law license after she pleaded guilty to a felony stalking charge, a step the court treats the same as disbarment.
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El resumen en español de esta opinión se está preparando. Mientras tanto se muestra el resumen en inglés.
En lenguaje claro
Susan Janette Lopez, a member of the Georgia Bar since 2014, pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of Cobb County to one count of aggravated stalking, a felony under Georgia law. Before the State Bar filed a formal complaint against her, Lopez filed her own petition asking to voluntarily give up her law license rather than go through a full disciplinary case. Lopez admitted that her guilty plea violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which bar lawyers from committing criminal acts that reflect poorly on their fitness to practice law. The maximum punishment for that violation is disbarment. The State Bar recommended that the court accept her request, and the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed, ordering her name removed from the list of people allowed to practice law in Georgia.
Qué decidió la corte
An attorney who pleads guilty to a felony violates Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Supreme Court of Georgia will accept her voluntary surrender of her law license as a resolution equivalent to disbarment.
Por qué importa
The decision removes a convicted felon from the rolls of practicing Georgia attorneys, protecting clients and the public from someone found guilty of a serious crime, and reinforces that a felony conviction can end a lawyer's career in the state.
Resultado
Voluntary surrender of license accepted (equivalent to disbarment)
Cómo llegó la corte a su decisión
- Lopez admitted she pleaded guilty in a Cobb County court to aggravated stalking, a felony under Georgia's aggravated stalking statute (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-91), and acknowledged this violated Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which prohibits lawyer conduct involving a felony.
- The maximum penalty for that rule violation is disbarment, and Lopez asked to voluntarily surrender her law license, which under the bar rules counts as the same outcome as disbarment.
- The State Bar reviewed her petition and recommended the court accept it, and the court looked to its own past decisions accepting similar voluntary surrenders of license for the same type of rule violation.
- Because the record supported Lopez's admissions and matched prior cases where the court approved voluntary surrender for the same violation, the court agreed to accept her petition and ordered her removed from the rolls of licensed attorneys.
Temas
- attorney disbarment
- aggravated stalking
- guilty plea
- voluntary license surrender
- Georgia Bar discipline