--- title: In the Matter of Mark Preston Jones collection: opinions id: S22Y0606 cite_as: In the Matter of Mark Preston Jones, 313 Ga. 571 (2022) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0606 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0606.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0606/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10679920/in-the-matter-of-mark-preston-jones/ date: 2022-03-30 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/S22Y0549.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22A0016.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1140 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0606.md?full=1 docket: S22Y0606 citation: 313 Ga. 571 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Voluntary surrender of license accepted vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 318 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 871 S.E.2d 671 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline - criminal law upstream_id: "10679920" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Mark Preston Jones Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S22Y0606, filed 2022-03-30, 313 Ga. 571. ## Opinion 313 Ga. 571 FINAL COPY S22Y0606. IN THE MATTER OF MARK PRESTON JONES. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a petition for voluntary surrender of license filed by respondent Mark Preston Jones (State Bar No. 110107) before the issuance of a formal complaint. See Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2). Jones has been a member of the Georgia Bar since 2007. In his petition, he admits that on November 15, 2021, in the Superior Court of Muscogee County, he entered a guilty plea to influencing a witness, violation of oath by a public officer, and two counts of attempted violation of oath by a public officer — all felonies under Georgia law. Jones admits that, as a result of his guilty plea, he has violated Rule 8.4 (a) (2) (lawyer shall not be convicted of a felony) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d), the maximum penalty for which is disbarment. He further acknowledges that the voluntary surrender of his license to practice law is tantamount to disbarment and asks the Court to accept his petition so as to resolve this matter without the need for formal proceedings. The State Bar has responded, agreeing with the facts as described in the petition and asking this Court to accept the petition. We have reviewed the record and accept Jones’s petition for the voluntary surrender of his license. Accordingly, the name Mark Preston Jones hereby is removed from the rolls of persons entitled to practice law in the State of Georgia. Jones is reminded of his duties under Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. Decided March 30, 2022. 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 Columbus lawyer's request to give up his law license after he pleaded guilty to felony charges including influencing a witness, treating the surrender as equivalent to disbarment. ### Plain-language summary Mark Preston Jones, a member of the Georgia Bar since 2007, pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of Muscogee County to influencing a witness, violation of oath by a public officer, and two counts of attempted violation of oath by a public officer, all felonies under Georgia law. Because of that conviction, he asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept his voluntary surrender of his law license rather than go through formal disciplinary proceedings. The State Bar of Georgia agreed with the facts in his petition and asked the court to accept it. The court reviewed the record, accepted the surrender, and ordered his name removed from the list of people allowed to practice law in Georgia, reminding him of his ongoing duties to notify clients and courts under the bar rules. ### Holding, as summarized Because Jones admitted to a felony conviction, which under Rule 8.4 (a) (2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct carries a maximum penalty of disbarment, the court accepted his voluntary surrender of his law license as equivalent to disbarment. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The decision permanently removes a lawyer convicted of felony crimes involving witness tampering and abuse of public office from practicing law in Georgia, protecting clients and the public, and shows how the State Bar resolves felony convictions without a lengthy formal disciplinary process. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,140 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22Y0606.md?full=1