The Supreme Court of Georgia has rejected former Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard’s petition for voluntary discipline.
The opinion, decided on Wednesday, stated that Woodard was “in a position of power and responsibility, and when considering the appropriate sanction to impose ‘this Court is … concerned … about the public’s confidence in the profession.’”
In August of last year, Woodard stepped down amid an indictment of 24 felony counts of theft by taking and giving false statements.
Back in March, the State Bar of Georgia recommended a public reprimand as opposed to suspension or disbarment for Woodard, which was aligned with her petition.
The Supreme Court referenced precedent that for a violation of the State Bar of Georgia’s Rules of Professional Conduct rule 8.4 (a) (3) — which is to be convicted of a misdemeanor involving “moral turpitude” — suspension or disbarment is an appropriate sanction.
“Although the State Bar supports Woodard’s request for a public reprimand, we do not agree that a public reprimand … is sufficient,” the opinion reads.
The court also said that a violation of rule 8.4 (a) (4) — “engaging in professional conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation” — is among “the most serious violations” a lawyer can be charged with.
The court said that there were two cases that Woodard used to support her request for public reprimand.
The two cases were In the Matter of Cherry and In the Matter of Davis, both from 2019, which the court said is easily distinguishable as neither case involved a lawyer being convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or a lawyer’s misuse of government funds.
Rather, the court said that the case is most similar to In the Matter of Williams from 2008 in which an assistant district attorney filed a petition for voluntary discipline for scheming to obtain money from the county. In that case, the assistant district attorney requested a six month suspension.
They cited another case, In the Matter of Adams from 2012 where an 18 month suspension was imposed when an attorney misrepresented their number of hours worked and overbilled the judicial circuit’s defense program.
The court will now allow Woodard to file a renewed petition for voluntary discipline “more consistent” with the applicable cases.
