Military Trial Leads To Annulment And Disbarment
The Maryland Court of Appeals has disbarred an attorney based on his license annulment by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reported on the West Virginia action
A local attorney’s license to practice law has been annulled by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
According to a release from the court, the license of Jeff A. Godfrey of Parkersburg was annulled after its review of the petition for annulment from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
In the petition, Renee N. Frymyer, Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, said Godfrey has been convicted of crimes that “reflect adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness and fitness as a lawyer, and is in direct violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.”
According to the petition, Godfey was a specialist for the U.S. Army, Charlie Company, 227th Aviation Support Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, N.Y.
On or about June 4, 2015, Godfrey was tried by General Court-Martial and was found guilty of stealing a basic allowance for housing of more than $500 between February 2010 and September 2014 and a family separation allowance while in Bagram, Afghanistan for more than $500 between October 2010 and September 2011 and May 2013 and January 2014, the court petition states.
It was estimated he took more than $73,000 from the government, according to the petition. Godfrey was reduced in rank to private, confined to the U.S. Army Correctional Facility at Leavenworth, Kansas, for eight months and discharged with a bad conduct discharge. However, the bad conduct discharge was not executed in a post-trial recommendation of the acting Staff Judge Advocate.
Godfrey reportedly failed to forward a copy of the judgment to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Under the Lawyer Discipline Procedure, “a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction after a plea of nolo contendere shall be deemed to be a conviction” under the rule.
According to the petition, his conviction of falsifying official military documents with intent to deceive and larceny violates three sections under professional misconduct.
In the petition it was stated there is no requirement that a criminal conviction or act of dishonesty involved the victimization of a client in a traditional attorney-client relationship, disbarment is warranted when funds are misappropriated or converted by a lawyer and other jurisdictions have disbarred lawyers based on criminal convictions in military courts.
(Mike Frisch)