--- title: In the Matter of Claud L. McIver III collection: opinions id: S23Y0621 cite_as: In the Matter of Claud L. McIver III, 316 Ga. 178 (2023) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0621 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0621.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0621/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10680128/in-the-matter-of-claud-l-mciver-iii/ date: 2023-04-18 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/2023.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0225.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23A0141.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1322 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0621.md?full=1 docket: S23Y0621 citation: 316 Ga. 178 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Voluntary surrender of license accepted; name removed from rolls vote: All the Justices concur, except Peterson, P. J., not participating, and LaGrua, J., disqualified word_count: 506 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 886 S.E.2d 804 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline - criminal law upstream_id: "10680128" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Claud L. McIver III Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S23Y0621, filed 2023-04-18, 316 Ga. 178. ## Opinion 316 Ga. 178 FINAL COPY S23Y0621. IN THE MATTER OF CLAUD L. MCIVER III. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a petition for voluntary surrender of license to practice law filed by Claud L. McIver III (State Bar No. 494125) prior to the issuance of a formal complaint. See Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2). On April 23, 2018, following a jury trial, McIver, who has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1973, was convicted in the Superior Court of Fulton County of felony murder based on aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and influencing a witness. This Court accepted McIver’s petition for voluntary suspension of his license pending the outcome of his appeal of those convictions, suspending him “until further order of this Court,” and directing him “to notify the State Bar of the final disposition of his direct appeal.” In the Matter of McIver, 303 Ga. 802, 802 (815 SE2d 53) (2018). Last year, this Court reversed McIver’s convictions of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, but affirmed his conviction of influencing a witness, which is a felony. McIver v. State, 314 Ga. 109 (875 SE2d 810) (2022); see OCGA § 16-10-93 (b) (2). In his petition, McIver admits that 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, and therefore seeks to voluntarily surrender his license to practice law, which is tantamount to disbarment. See Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.0 (s). The State Bar responds that it has no objection to McIver’s petition. We have reviewed the record and agree to accept McIver’s petition for the voluntary surrender of his license, a disposition that is consistent with prior, similar cases. See In the Matter of Jones, 313 Ga. 571 (871 SE2d 671) (2022) (accepting voluntary surrender of license for lawyer’s convictions for influencing a witness, violation of oath by a public officer, and attempted violation of oath by a public officer); In the Matter of Hill, 302 Ga. 871, 871 (809 SE2d 793) (2018) (accepting voluntary surrender of license for lawyer’s convictions for influencing a witness and criminal attempt to suborn perjury). Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the name of Claud L. McIver III be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. McIver is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur, except Peterson, P. J., not participating, and LaGrua, J., disqualified. Decided April 18, 2023. Voluntary surrender of license. Garland Samuel & Loeb, Donald F. Samuel, Amanda R. Clark Palmer, for McIver. 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 petition from attorney Claud L. McIver III to voluntarily surrender his law license, a move equivalent to disbarment, after his felony conviction for influencing a witness was upheld on appeal. ### Plain-language summary Claud L. McIver III, a Georgia lawyer since 1973, was convicted by a Fulton County jury of felony murder, possessing a firearm during a crime, and influencing a witness. The Supreme Court of Georgia had suspended his law license while he appealed. On appeal, the court reversed the murder and firearm convictions but upheld the felony conviction for influencing a witness. Because that remaining conviction is a felony, McIver admitted he violated the rule barring lawyers from being convicted of a felony, an offense that carries disbarment as the maximum penalty. He asked to voluntarily give up his license rather than face formal disciplinary proceedings, and the State Bar did not object. The court reviewed the matter and agreed to accept his voluntary surrender, removing him from the rolls of lawyers allowed to practice in Georgia. ### Holding, as summarized A lawyer convicted of a felony, here influencing a witness, may voluntarily surrender his law license rather than face formal disciplinary proceedings, and the court will accept such a petition when it is consistent with the outcome in similar prior cases and the State Bar does not object. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted; name removed from rolls. All the Justices concur, except Peterson, P. J., not participating, and LaGrua, J., disqualified. ### Why it matters The decision permanently removes McIver from the practice of law in Georgia, protecting clients and the public from a lawyer with a felony conviction, and shows how the State Bar and court handle discipline when a criminal appeal partially succeeds. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,322 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0621.md?full=1