In the Matter of Donald Francis Hawbaker

Donald Francis Hawbaker, a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2013, pleaded guilty in Spalding County Superior Court to five felony counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer after he refused to leave his home when deputies came to serve an arrest warrant and opened fire on them. He was sentenced to 20 years on each count, to serve 10, running concurrently. After the State Bar asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to appoint a special master to review the matter, Hawbaker petitioned to voluntarily surrender his law license rather than contest discipline. A special master recommended the court accept the surrender, and the court agreed, finding the mitigating evidence did not justify a lesser punishment than the loss of his license. The court ordered his name removed from the rolls of attorneys authorized to practice law in Georgia.

The court held that Hawbaker's felony convictions for aggravated assault on a peace officer violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct and that the mitigating evidence was insufficient to justify anything less than accepting his voluntary surrender of his law license, which is treated the same as disbarment.

The decision removes an attorney convicted of shooting at police officers from Georgia's rolls of practicing lawyers, reinforcing that felony convictions involving violence, especially against law enforcement, will typically end a lawyer's ability to practice in the state.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted

1. The court applied Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which makes a felony conviction a violation subject to a maximum penalty of disbarment, to Hawbaker's guilty pleas for five felony counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer.
2. The court noted that disbarment is the typical discipline for violent felonies, but acknowledged that a lesser penalty could be appropriate if the circumstances and mitigating factors were strong enough to justify it.
3. The court found the mitigating evidence presented was insufficient to justify a lesser penalty than losing his license, given the seriousness of shooting at deputies attempting to serve an arrest warrant.
4. The court compared the case to prior similar bar discipline cases involving violent felony convictions, where voluntary surrender or disbarment was accepted, and found this case consistent with that pattern.
5. Because Hawbaker's petition for voluntary surrender is treated as equivalent to disbarment under the professional conduct rules, the court accepted the petition and ordered his name struck from the rolls of Georgia attorneys.

• attorney disbarment
• voluntary surrender of license
• aggravated assault on police
• State Bar of Georgia
• felony conviction