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
Decided: November 5, 2024
S24Y1274. IN THE MATTER OF DAVID CARLETON HEAD.
PER CURIAM.
This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report and
recommendation of Special Master LaVonda Rochelle DeWitt, which
was issued after a show cause hearing pursuant to Rule 4-106 of the
Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct (the “Rules”). The Special
Master recommends that David Carleton Head (State Bar No.
341467), a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1990, be
disbarred based upon his conviction for misdemeanor theft by
conversion where his victim was his client. The Special Master’s
recommendation is based on her finding that Head violated Rule 8.4
(a) (3)1 found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d). The maximum penalty for
1 Rule 8.4 (a) (3) provides that it shall be a violation of the Rules for a
lawyer to “be convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude where the
underlying conduct relates to the lawyer’s fitness to practice law.”
violating Rule 8.4 (a) (3) is disbarment. Neither Head nor the State
Bar filed exceptions to the Special Master’s report and
recommendation. Having now undertaken our own review of the
record, we agree that disbarment is appropriate.
In her report, the Special Master laid out the underlying facts
as follows. On May 25, 2022, Head was convicted of one count of theft
by conversion in violation of OCGA § 16-8-4, a misdemeanor. Head’s
victim was his client who is elderly and in poor health. Head was
sentenced to twelve months of probation. The accusation to which
Head pleaded guilty states that he converted title to an ambulance
owned by his client.
The Special Master noted that a lawyer violates Rule 8.4 (a) (3)
when convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude where
the underlying conduct relates to the lawyer’s fitness to practice law.
The Special Master further stated that moral turpitude is defined as
including everything done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty, or
good morals. See Carruth v. Brown, 202 Ga. App. 656, 658 (415 SE2d
470) (1992) (misdemeanor bad check conviction involved moral
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turpitude); In the Matter of Butler, 255 Ga. 41, 41 (335 SE2d 296)
(1985) (“Theft by conversion by an attorney acting in a fiduciary
capacity is a felony . . . and involves moral turpitude.”). The Special
Master then found that Head violated Rule 8.4 (a) (3) by virtue of
his criminal conviction.
The Special Master then looked to the American Bar
Association’s Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions (“ABA
Standards”) for guidance in determining the appropriate sanction to
impose in this case. See In the Matter of Morse, 266 Ga. 652, 653
(470 SE2d 232) (1996). The ABA Standards state that the following
should be considered when imposing a sanction after a finding of
lawyer misconduct: the duty violated; the lawyer’s mental state; and
the potential or actual injury caused by the lawyer’s misconduct.
ABA Standard 3.0. The Special Master found that Head violated the
duty to maintain professional honesty and integrity, see ABA
Standard 5.11, and also violated his duties to this client, see ABA
Standard 4.11. The Special Master found that Head acted
intentionally and that he caused injury to his client and to the
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public’s perception of the legal profession and system. Further, the
Special Master stated that the ABA Standards specify, absent
aggravating and mitigating factors, that the generally appropriate
penalty when a lawyer engages in intentional conduct involving
dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation which seriously
adversely reflects on his fitness to practice is disbarment. ABA
Standard 5.11 (b).
Next, the Special Master found that there are several
aggravating circumstances present in this matter: (1) prior
disciplinary offenses, since Head received two investigative panel
reprimands and a letter of admonition, ABA Standard 9.22 (a); (2)
dishonest or selfish motive, since Head sought to enrich himself at
his client’s expense, ABA Standard 9.22 (b); (3) vulnerability of the
victim, ABA Standard 9.22 (h); (4) substantial experience in the
practice of law, ABA Standard 9.22 (i); and (5) illegal conduct, ABA
Standard 9.22 (k). The Special Master found that there are no
mitigating circumstances present here. Accordingly, the Special
Master recommended that Head be disbarred.
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Considering the record as a whole, we agree with the Special
Master that Head violated Rule 8.4 (a) (3). Head’s underlying
conduct relates to his fitness to practice law, as he converted his
client’s property. Further, the circumstances as cited by the Special
Master – that Head, who has substantial experience practicing law,
intentionally converted his vulnerable client’s property to enrich
himself – warrant the Special Master’s determination that Head’s
crime in this instance was dishonest, a breach of trust, and contrary
to his duty to his client, i.e., one involving moral turpitude. See In re
Jones, 293 Ga. 264, 265-66 (744 SE2d 6) (2013) (concluding that
misdemeanor convictions for smuggling contraband into jail
involved crimes of moral turpitude in part because the acts
necessarily involved an element of deceit and dishonesty and were
in breach of the “public trust that inheres in the office of attorney”).
This Court concludes that the appropriate sanction in this matter is
disbarment. See In the Matter of Childers, 297 Ga. 788, 788-89 (778
SE2d 216) (2015) (disbarring attorney for violating Rule 8.4 (a) (3)
following the entry of his guilty plea to one count of theft by receiving
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stolen property, a misdemeanor); In the Matter of Porges-Dodson,
280 Ga. 433, 433-34 (627 SE2d 545) (2006) (disbarring attorney for
violating Rule 8.4 (a) (3) where lawyer pleaded guilty to a
misdemeanor count of unlawful conversion of government property,
a Social Security check for $425; there were no mitigating factors
but lawyer’s disciplinary history was in aggravation). It is hereby
ordered that the name of David Carleton Head be removed from the
rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia.
Head is reminded of his duties under Rule 4-219 (b).
Disbarred. All the Justices concur.
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