--- title: In the Matter of Earnest Redwine collection: opinions id: S21Y0684 cite_as: In the Matter of Earnest Redwine, 311 Ga. 287 (2021) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0684 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0684.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0684/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10367833/in-the-matter-of-earnest-redwine/ date: 2021-04-05 status: published corpus_version: opinions-2026-09-14 license: Public record of the Supreme Court of Georgia, via CourtListener and the court's own website; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/2021.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y1501.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0947.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1671 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0684.md?full=1 docket: S21Y0684 citation: 311 Ga. 287 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Voluntary surrender of license accepted, tantamount to disbarment vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 650 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 857 S.E.2d 193 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10367833" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Earnest Redwine Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S21Y0684, filed 2021-04-05, 311 Ga. 287. ## Opinion 311 Ga. 287 FINAL COPY S21Y0684. IN THE MATTER OF EARNEST REDWINE. PER CURIAM. This matter is before the Court on the report and recommendation of Special Master Patrick Head, recommending that the Court accept the petition for voluntary surrender of license filed by Earnest Redwine (State Bar No. 597610). In July 2020, the Bar filed a Formal Complaint, alleging that Redwine had violated several provisions of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct in connection with his neglect of a client in a personal injury matter that resulted in the client’s lawsuit being dismissed with prejudice. Redwine did not file an answer to the Formal Complaint; instead, in November 2020, he filed a petition for voluntary surrender, admitting the essential allegations of the Formal Complaint. The State Bar recommended that the petition be accepted. Redwine has been a member of the Bar since 1992. The facts, as found by the Special Master and as admitted by Redwine, show the following. In December 2016, Redwine was retained to represent a client in pursuing a personal injury claim. Redwine falsely told his client that he was performing work on the matter, and although he filed an action the day before the statute of limitation was to expire, he failed to serve the defendant. After Redwine failed to appear at a calendar call, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of service. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion and dismissed the action with prejudice. Redwine failed to inform his client about the dismissal, and when she learned about it, she filed a grievance. Redwine did not respond to the grievance or to the ensuing Notice of Investigation. The Special Master determined that by this conduct, Redwine violated Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, 1.4 (a), 3.2, 8.4 (a) (4), and 9.3 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d). The maximum sanction for a violation of Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, and 8.4 (a) (4) is disbarment, and the maximum sanction for a violation of Rules 1.4 (a), 3.2, and 9.3 is a public reprimand. The Special Master considered the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions (1992), see In the Matter of Morse, 266 Ga. 652, 653 (470 SE2d 232) (1996), and we agree that the following aggravating circumstances are present: dishonest motive and substantial experience in the practice of law. See ABA Standard 9.22 (b), (i). We also agree that the only mitigating circumstance present is the lack of a prior disciplinary record, see ABA Standard 9.32 (a), although we note that Redwine is currently under an administrative suspension. Further, in recommending that the Court accept the petition for voluntary surrender, the Special Master noted disciplinary cases in which similar violations have resulted in disbarment. See In the Matter of Bennett, 307 Ga. 679 (837 SE2d 298) (2019); In the Matter of Thompson, 306 Ga. 618 (832 SE2d 334) (2019); In the Matter of Annis, 306 Ga. 187 (829 SE2d 346) (2019); In the Matter of Jennings, 305 Ga. 133 (823 SE2d 811) (2019); In the Matter of Garcia, 303 Ga. 537 (813 SE2d 591) (2018); In the Matter of Watkins, 302 Ga. 226 (805 SE2d 816) (2017). Having reviewed the record, we agree with the Special Master’s recommendation and accept Redwine’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license, which is tantamount to disbarment. See Bar Rule 1.0 (r). Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the name of Earnest Redwine be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Redwine is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. Decided April 5, 2021. Voluntary surrender of license. Paula J. Frederick, General Counsel State Bar, William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel State Bar, Jenny K. Mittelman, Andreea N. Morrison, Assistant General Counsel State Bar, for State Bar of Georgia. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the opinion above and is not part of the court's opinion. Quote the opinion, not the summary. The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Fulton-area lawyer's request to permanently surrender his law license after he neglected a client's personal injury case, causing the lawsuit to be dismissed and then hiding the dismissal from her. ### Plain-language summary A lawyer named Earnest Redwine was hired in December 2016 to pursue a personal injury claim for a client. He falsely told her he was working on the case, filed the lawsuit just before the deadline but never had it served on the defendant, and then failed to show up when the court called the case, leading a judge to dismiss it permanently. Redwine never told his client the case had been dismissed, and she found out on her own and filed a complaint with the State Bar of Georgia, which Redwine ignored along with the Bar's follow-up investigation. The State Bar filed formal disciplinary charges. Rather than fight them, Redwine asked to voluntarily surrender his law license, admitting the key facts. A special master reviewed the case and recommended the court accept the surrender, and the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed, treating it as equivalent to disbarment. ### Holding, as summarized The court held that Redwine's admitted misconduct, neglecting a client's case, lying about his work, and hiding a dismissal, warranted accepting his voluntary surrender of his law license, which the court treats as equivalent to disbarment. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted, tantamount to disbarment. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The case shows how the State Bar of Georgia disciplines lawyers who abandon clients and cover it up, reassuring the public that such conduct can end a legal career. Redwine's client lost her personal injury claim entirely because of his neglect and dishonesty. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,671 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0684.md?full=1