Lawyer Self-discipline
Regardless of pardon, court docket says disbarment could be acceptable for lawyer who stormed the Capitol
Police trying to carry Jan. 6, 2021, rioters on the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photograph/Andrew Harnik)
Public reprimand was not sufficient punishment for a lawyer who admitted to getting into the U.S. Capitol Constructing with rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, the Georgia Supreme Courtroom just lately discovered.
The Jan. 21 opinion includes W. McCall Calhoun Jr., and rejects the State Bar of Georgia and a particular grasp’s suggestion that he obtain public reprimand. Proof contains Calhoun’s social media posts, which “clearly recommend” that he supposed to take part in a “violent takeover” of the capital, in response to the opinion.
“If Calhoun was as concerned as his posts point out, then it’s exhausting for us to see how something lower than disbarment might be accepted right here,” the court docket wrote in a unanimous opinion. The matter is remanded for additional proceedings.
Calhoun didn’t instantly reply to an ABA Journal interview request. On Jan. 9, 2021, he advised the Atlanta Journal Constitution that individuals who pressured their approach into the Capitol had been “heroic” and “patriotic.”
The Americus, Georgia, lawyer was convicted of felony and misdemeanor fees associated to the Jan. 6 occasions. President Donald Trump granted Calhoun a pardon for all of the offenses in January 2025.
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