Whiteville attorney suspended

Attorney: Giles Cameron Byrd

Location: Whiteville

Bar membership: Member since 2009

Disciplinary action: Suspended from the practice of law for four years on June 4. After two years, Byrd may apply for a stay of the remaining portion of the suspension.

Background: Byrd submitted a petition for a limited driving privilege in Columbus County District Court on behalf of a client, and used it to obtain dismissals of the client’s pending traffic charges. The petition included false statements that Byrd knew, or should have known, were false. In December 2016, Byrd pleaded guilty to misdemeanor obstruction of justice and was placed on 12 months’ probation. In a separate case, Byrd negotiated a plea agreement with an assistant district attorney. He then submitted to the court a Transcript of Plea that had the guilty plea struck through and changed to a plea of no-contest. Byrd made the change without the ADA’s knowledge or approval in order to get his client to accept the deal. In another separate matter, Byrd represented a parent in a custody action in Columbus County and obtained an ex parte emergency order granting his client custody of the child. Byrd failed to serve the other parent with a summons and complaint, but then sought to have the other parent held in contempt for failure to comply with the ex parte order, which was later deemed invalid.

Previous discipline: None

All information contained in the Bar Discipline Roundup is compiled and edited by Lawyers Weekly editor-in-chief David Donovan. He can be reached at [email protected].