Mississippi Bar v. Jones

118 So. 3d 542 (Miss. 2012) · Supreme Court of Mississippi · April 19, 2012 · No. Cause No. 2011-BD-1810

Summary

The Mississippi Supreme Court accepted Kenneth L. Jones’s irrevocable resignation from the Mississippi Bar and ordered his permanent disbarment. The order terminated all outstanding disciplinary proceedings, imposed related notification and compliance requirements, and assessed costs against Jones.

Court
Supreme Court of Mississippi
Writing for the Court
Leslie D. King, Justice
Jurisdiction
Mississippi
Decision date
April 19, 2012
Docket number
Cause No. 2011-BD-1810
Procedural posture
The Mississippi Bar petitioned the Supreme Court of Mississippi to accept Kenneth L. Jones's irrevocable resignation under Rule 10 of the Mississippi Rules of Discipline and to enter an order of disbarment.
Standard of review
Attorney-discipline cases are reviewed de novo.
Precedential value
Published opinion
Parties
Mississippi Bar v. Kenneth L. Jones
Disposition
other

Topics

appellate procedureremedies

Practice areas

attorney disciplineprofessional responsibilityappellate procedure

Questions Presented

  1. Whether the Supreme Court of Mississippi should accept Jones's irrevocable resignation under Mississippi Rule of Discipline 10.5.
  2. Whether acceptance of the resignation required permanent disbarment and termination of the pending disciplinary proceedings.

Holdings

  1. The Supreme Court of Mississippi has exclusive and inherent jurisdiction over matters pertaining to attorney discipline.
  2. Jones properly filed his Notice of Irrevocable Resignation in accordance with Mississippi Rule of Discipline 10.5, and the Mississippi Bar was entitled to the requested relief.
  3. Acceptance of Jones's resignation required permanent disbarment, termination of all outstanding disciplinary proceedings, and compliance with the obligations applicable to disbarred attorneys.

Factual background

Kenneth L. Jones executed a Notice of Irrevocable Resignation on November 29, 2011, and delivered it to the Mississippi Bar on or about December 1, 2011. He acknowledged two pending disciplinary matters, Docket Nos. 11-081-1 and 11-127-1, stated that he did not desire to defend them, and requested permission to resign with prejudice from the Bar.

Procedural history

Jones executed and delivered a Notice of Irrevocable Resignation acknowledging two pending disciplinary matters, stating that he did not wish to defend them, and requesting permission to resign with prejudice. The Mississippi Bar filed its petition, and the Supreme Court of Mississippi accepted the resignation and permanently disbarred Jones.

Court Document

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