--- title: In the Matter of Jerry Boykin collection: opinions id: S22Y0563 cite_as: In the Matter of Jerry Boykin, 313 Ga. 332 (2022) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0563 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0563.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0563/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10679948/in-the-matter-of-jerry-boykin/ date: 2022-02-15 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/2022.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21A0967.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21A1242.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1312 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0563.md?full=1 docket: S22Y0563 citation: 313 Ga. 332 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: 343 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 869 S.E.2d 500 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10679948" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Jerry Boykin Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S22Y0563, filed 2022-02-15, 313 Ga. 332. ## Opinion 313 Ga. 332 FINAL COPY S22Y0563. IN THE MATTER OF JERRY BOYKIN. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a petition for voluntary surrender of license filed by Jerry Boykin (State Bar No. 073250) prior to the issuance of a formal complaint under Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2). In his petition, Boykin, who has been a member of the Bar since 1973, recites that, although he has been on disabled status with the Bar and unable to practice law since 2018, he filed a petition to probate a will in 2020. Upon learning from the clerk of the probate court that the decedent had executed a subsequent will appointing co-executors, Boykin attempted to convince one of the executors to renounce his appointment in order to expedite the resolution of the estate, but the executor refused. Boykin then forged the executor’s signature on an affidavit stating that the executor renounced the appointment, notarized the forged signature, and filed the affidavit in the probate court. By this conduct, Boykin acknowledges that he violated Rules 5.5 (a) and 8.4 (a) (4) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d). The maximum penalty for a violation of Rules 5.5 (a) and 8.4 (a) (4) is disbarment, and Boykin acknowledges that the surrender of his license is tantamount to disbarment. Rule 1.0 (r). In its response, the Bar recommends that this Court accept Boykin’s petition. We have reviewed the record and agree to accept Boykin’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license, which is tantamount to disbarment. Accordingly, it is ordered that the name of Jerry Boykin be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Boykin is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. Decided February 15, 2022. Voluntary surrender of license. Paula J. Frederick, General Counsel State Bar, William D. NeSmith III, Deputy Counsel State Bar, Jenny K. Mittelman, Assistant General Counsel State Bar of Georgia, for State Bar. ## 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 an Augusta-area attorney's request to give up his law license after he admitted forging a co-executor's signature on a probate court filing, a move treated the same as disbarment. ### Plain-language summary Jerry Boykin, a lawyer who had been a member of the State Bar since 1973 but had been unable to practice because of a disability status since 2018, filed a petition to probate a will in 2020. When he learned a later will named different co-executors, he tried to get one of the executors to give up his role to speed things along. That executor refused, so Boykin forged the executor's signature on a document saying he had renounced the position, had the forged signature notarized, and filed it with the probate court. Boykin admitted this violated Georgia's rules against practicing law while not authorized to do so and against engaging in conduct involving dishonesty. Before the State Bar filed formal charges, he asked to voluntarily give up his law license, which under the rules counts the same as being disbarred. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the matter and agreed to accept his surrender. ### Holding, as summarized Because Boykin admitted forging a court document and violating the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct governing unauthorized practice and dishonest conduct, the court accepted his voluntary surrender of his law license, which is treated the same as disbarment. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted (tantamount to disbarment). All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The case shows how Georgia's attorney discipline system handles serious misconduct, forging court documents, by letting a lawyer surrender his license before a formal disciplinary trial. It reassures the public and the probate courts that fabricated filings by attorneys carry the most severe professional consequence available. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,312 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0563.md?full=1