--- title: In the Matter of Timothy Michael Orange collection: opinions id: S26Y1709 cite_as: In the Matter of Timothy Michael Orange, S26Y1709 (Ga. Sep. 9, 2026) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y1709 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y1709.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y1709/text source_url: https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/s26y1709.pdf date: 2026-09-09 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/2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y1458.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1655 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y1709.md?full=1 docket: S26Y1709 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Voluntary surrender of license accepted (equivalent to disbarment) vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 477 date_filed_source: courtlistener record_source: gasupreme legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: ga-s26y1709 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Timothy Michael Orange Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S26Y1709, filed 2026-09-09. ## Opinion NOTICE: This opinion is subject to modification resulting from motions for reconsideration under Supreme Court Rule 27, the Court’s reconsideration, and editorial revisions by the Reporter of Decisions. The version of the opinion published in the Advance Sheets for the Georgia Reports, designated as the “Final Copy,” will replace any prior version on the Court’s website and docket. A bound volume of the Georgia Reports will contain the final and official text of the opinion. In the Supreme Court of Georgia No. S26Y1709 In the Matter of Timothy Michael Orange Decided: September 9, 2026 PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report and recommendation of Special Master Adam M. Hames, who rec- ommends that this Court accept the Petition for Voluntary Sur- render of License filed by Timothy Michael Orange (State Bar No. 632649) following his felony guilty plea conviction, which consti- tutes a violation of Rule 8.4(a)(2) (providing that it is a violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct for a lawyer to be convicted of a felony) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102(d). The maximum penalty for a violation of Rule 8.4(a)(2) is disbarment. The record reflects that, in November 2025, Orange who has been a member of the Bar since October 2022, entered an Al- ford1 plea to one count of theft by taking in violation of OCGA § 16-8-2, and the court sentenced him to 10 years of probation, plus fines, and $67,348 in restitution. Based on the guilty plea, the Bar initiated proceedings under Bar Rule 4-106, and after a show cause hearing, Orange filed a Petition for Voluntary Surrender of License, admitting that, by his guilty plea conviction, he had vio- lated Rule 8.4(a)(2) and seeking to resolve the instant case, as 1 North Carolina v. Alford, 400 US 25 (1970). well as two other disciplinary matters that were still pending be- fore a Special Master. The Bar responded to Orange’s petition by recommending that the Special Master accept it, and the Special Master thereafter issued his report, recommending that the Court accept Orange’s petition. Having reviewed the record, we accept the Special Master’s recommendation and, therefore, accept Orange’s Petition for Vol- untary Surrender of License, which is tantamount to disbar- ment. See Rule 1.0(u). This resolution is consistent with prior similar cases. See, e.g., In the Matter of Wersant, 322 Ga. 600, 601 (2025) (accepting voluntary surrender of license where attorney violated Rule 8.4(a)(2)); In the Matter of Jones, 320 Ga. 448, 448 (2024) (same); In the Matter of Williams, 291 Ga. 659, 659 (2012) (same). Accordingly, the name Timothy Michael Orange shall be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Orange is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219(b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. ## 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 Atlanta-area attorney's request to give up his law license after he pleaded guilty to felony theft, a resolution equivalent to disbarment. ### Plain-language summary Timothy Michael Orange, a member of the State Bar of Georgia since October 2022, entered an Alford plea (a guilty plea in which a defendant accepts conviction while not admitting to the underlying facts) to one count of theft by taking. A court sentenced him to 10 years of probation, fines, and more than $67,000 in restitution. Because a felony conviction violates the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, the State Bar began disciplinary proceedings against him. After a hearing, Orange asked to voluntarily surrender his law license rather than continue fighting the case, and he wanted this to resolve two other pending disciplinary matters as well. A Special Master reviewed the situation and recommended the Supreme Court of Georgia accept his request. The court agreed, and Orange's name will be removed from the rolls of lawyers licensed to practice in Georgia. ### Holding, as summarized The court accepted Orange's Petition for Voluntary Surrender of License because his felony guilty plea conviction for theft by taking violated Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, and this surrender is treated as equivalent to disbarment. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted (equivalent to disbarment). All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The decision removes a lawyer with a felony theft conviction from Georgia's list of licensed attorneys, protecting future clients from potential harm. It also shows how the State Bar and the Supreme Court of Georgia handle felony convictions among attorneys, typically treating voluntary surrender as equivalent to disbarment. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions (1,655 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y1709.md?full=1