In the Matter of Carl Lawrence Collins ( 2023 )

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official text of the opinion.
In the Supreme Court of Georgia
Decided: November 7, 2023
S23Y1064. IN THE MATTER OF CARL LAWRENCE COLLINS.
PER CURIAM.
This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition filed
by Carl Lawrence Collins (State Bar No. 110769) seeking the
voluntary suspension of his license to practice law pending the
outcome of an appeal of his criminal convictions. Collins, who has
been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2014, admits that,
on November 16, 2022, he was found guilty, in the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern
Division, of five counts of making a false tax return, in violation of
26 USC § 7206 (1). Collins further acknowledges that his convictions
constitute violations of Rule 8.4 (a) (2) 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 Bar did
not file a response to Collins’s petition, and Special Master Michael
Joseph Blakely, Jr. filed a report and recommendation suggesting
that this Court accept Collins’s petition.
Having reviewed Collins’s petition and the special master’s
report, we agree that the petition should be accepted. See In the
Matter of Rachel, 297 Ga. 279 (773 SE2d 246) (2015) (accepting
petition seeking voluntary suspension of license pending outcome of
appeal of criminal conviction). See also In the Matter of Swank, 288
Ga. 479 (704 SE2d 807) (2011) (accepting petition for interim
suspension during pendency of criminal charges). Accordingly, it is
hereby ordered that Carl Lawrence Collins be suspended from the
practice of law in this State pending the outcome of his direct appeal
and until further order of this Court. Collins is ordered to notify the
State Bar’s Office of General Counsel in writing within 10 days of
the final disposition of his direct appeal, and he is further ordered to
comply with the notification and other requirements of Bar Rule 4-
219 (b).
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Petition for interim suspension accepted. Suspended until
further order of this Court. All the Justices concur.
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