North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Attorney: Robert A. Garner IV
Location: Durham
Bar membership: Member since 2012
Disciplinary action: Reprimanded on Feb. 22
Background: Garner represented a client in connection with criminal charges brought against the client by a complainant. The client expressed concern to Garner that the criminal charges he had brought against the complainant had been dismissed by the district attorney’s office. After the assistant district attorney prosecuting the client told the client that she would not reinstate charges against the complainant, Garner accompanied his client to the magistrate’s office to re-file the charges. When the magistrate expressed concern about re-filing to charges without the approval of the district attorney’s office, Garner told the magistrate that the office did not have a problem with re-filing the charges, thereby engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation that reflected adversely on his fitness as a lawyer. Garner also denied telling this to the magistrate in response to the State Bar’s letter of notice of a violation.
Previous discipline: None
